Murphy's Law
by Sporadicx
Summary: In the legal world, what can go wrong always will. Athena's fear of courtrooms still haunts her even a year after she is acquitted of all charges. When one case emerges she cannot refuse, she must find sanctuary in her past... and remember the man who has been there since the beginning. Cykesquill
1. Chapter 1

Rain pattered lightly on the windows of the Wright Anything Agency, giving a weightless soundtrack for Athena as she shifted through photos, testimonies, evidence that she had looked at what felt like thousands of times. She looked up for a minute to swallow and look up, and she shoved the hare-in-the-hat that Trucy left on her desk (for some reason) onto the floor. The ribbon that was tied around the base drooped, as if disapproving, and Athena sighed and put it in the mess of the living room. Only Trucy, maybe Pearly, would find it again.

"This isn't working," she muttered to herself, standing up and pinching the bridge of her nose. Widget glowed blue and then red, like it couldn't make up its mind. It made sense. Athena wasn't quite sure what to feel.

This was a cut and dry case, certainly no turnabout. A rarity in the law field these days, especially in the Wright Anything Agency. Phoenix and Apollo practically threw the case at her when it came up, and she had gone into a slight rage.

"So I can't do any difficult cases, is that it?!"

"No, nothing like that." Phoenix gave her a small smile. "Don't you want to see if you could stand in court on your own now?"

It was a valid point. A year had passed since that trial that had cleared Simon Blackquill and her names, and the courtroom became a constant in her life. She couldn't see herself doing anything else, but still...

But still. There was no use reviewing everything over and over. She knew them backwards, knew them like a lawyer should. That wasn't the problem.

She turned and climbed over a mess of colorful sheets and still packed boxes to put her fingertips on the window. The rain came down so carefully and slowly that Athena could still see outside without much effort. People weren't using umbrellas. She saw a couple laughing, a little girl walking her dog, vibrant green grass. If she didn't know any better, Athena would have said that it was actually raining indoors today. She stepped back and nearly tripped over the mess.

Athena took a sticky note and a pen from a drawer in her desk, and after writing _Please invite Pearly over this weekend_ she stuck it on what she thought was Phoenix's desk, although she couldn't be sure with how buried it was in papers and Trucy's stuff. Only cases were neatly organized in the bookshelf in the back, and Athena let herself smile when she remembered Phoenix telling her that his mentor had started it when she owned the office, and he just continued it.

She rested her temples in her hands. How was she going to tell them? That somehow she mucked this one up? Athena only took a moment before looking back at the case as represented on her desk. Her skin flushed and Widget turned red.

In a rush, she shoved everything back in the manila folder and slammed it in a drawer. Apollo and Phoenix were due to show up any minute now, back from their respective cases, and she didn't want to be here when they arrived. She packed up her purse and left, cellphone to her ear as she walked the opposite direction of the courthouse.

"Junie, are you out of class?"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, she found herself sitting at their favorite cafe, stirring a hot chocolate and blowing on it. She watched with a childlike fascination as tunnels formed in the liquid and disappeared. She never had time to frequent cafes when she studied in Europe. It was study, exercise, eat, sleep, shower, rinse, repeat, and fun was never a priority. Juniper introduced them to her a few months ago, and she was hooked right away. She never got coffee or tea, always hot chocolate, and Juniper always teased her in her usual gentle way about it.

"Thena?"

"Junie!" Athena stood up and gave her friend a hug, and Junie gave her a small one back. "How is school?"

"Almost done." They separated and sat down. Athena had picked a spot next to the window, and the small table ensured some level of privacy. Not that it mattered. Athena barely knew anyone in town. The cafe was well lit, but small, and it was always only half full.

"Are you okay, Thena?"

Juniper always did have a way of finding the point right away.

Athena let out a loud huff. "No," she admitted. "It was my first trial by myself today. Well," she winced and gave her friend an apologetic look. Juniper's pale pastel dress hung nearly to the floor around her chair, and she was already fiddling with one of her twin braids. "The first one by myself where I didn't have to be rescued. Sorry."

"I know what you mean." Juniper sat a little straighter and let out one small cough. She shook her head and took a sip of tea, which she must have ordered before finding Athena. "Go on."

Athena shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. That was insensitive-"

"That trial was a while ago," Juniper pointed out. "I'm okay now."

Athena could still see that destroyed courtroom that held a lot of meaning for all of them in her mind. But Juniper didn't breathe into a flower the way she usually did when she was under distress, so Athena had to take her word for it.

"Apollo and Phoenix were both working today. It was just me out there."

"Did you lose the whole case?"

Athena sighed. "No, but the trial is going to tomorrow."

Juniper was silent for a little bit, and Athena decided to take a swig of hot chocolate. It was still a little too hot.

"That's not a big deal, is it?"

"Not normally, but it's an easy case." Athena leaned back in her chair and blew at her bangs. "Really easy. Like, the defendant has a rock solid alibi easy. Among other things." She didn't want to recite the whole case.

Juniper winced a little. "Like you're not going to even bother to investigate it easy?"

"Well, I've already done that."

"Oh. Well then."

They sat in silence for a little bit, as Juniper drank her tea. Athena fidgeted a little, taking turns sipping her drink and looking at the window.

"Is it because of... well, you know...?"

"Me freezing up?" Athena let out a loud exhale. "Yes."

"I'm sorry."

Athena shook her head. "One year after... this shouldn't be happening."

Juniper looked at her with wide eyes. "I don't think you can give healing a time line."

"Apollo and Simon seem to be doing fine."

A slight flush appeared on Juniper's cheeks at the mention of Apollo's name, and Athena let herself feel a little smug before she fixed her eyes on the polished table.

"Men," Juniper said simply. "They don't count."

Athena started laughing, although she couldn't ignore the sinking feeling inside. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it is," she said, shaking her head, "but thanks, Junie."

Juniper smiled big, as if she was proud of her joking, but then her expression turned serious. "But seriously, Athena. They both have more experience than you do. And as for Si- I mean, Prosecutor Blackquill... well, have you seen him recently?"

Athena frowned. "No, not too recently." she admitted. He had been impossible to track down lately, and Athena had been busying herself with her own cases. She should have tried harder... guilt began to surface. "Not for a couple of months."

Juniper stood up. Athena was surprised for only an instant, but then remembered that Juniper still had one more class to attend. "I saw him in one of Apollo's trials."

Athena raised her eyebrows and gave her best friend a huge grin, and Juniper seemed to blush all the way down to her dress. She gulped down the rest of her hot chocolate and stood up as well. "Junie-"

"It's not what you think."

"Uh-huh."

Juniper shook her head and looked away from Athena. "This isn't my point! Prosecutor Blackquill... he still has that darkness under his eyes."

Athena stopped and looked down at the ground. She didn't know if that could go away, not for him. But did it mean...

Juniper didn't have a bag with her or anything like that, so she began to move outside. "Walk with me to school?" she offered. "Unless you want to go back to the office."

"I'll walk you to the main road, but then I'll probably have to go back." Athena said reluctantly. She followed her friend out the door and they began to walk towards the busy road a few blocks away. They walked mostly in silence. Juniper worried her lip between her top and bottom teeth, seemingly deep in thought. Athena left her to it. She had a lot to think about herself.

Once they reached the road, Juniper looked at her and gave a shy smile. "Tell you what," she said kindly. "How about I come to the trial tomorrow?"

Athena didn't even think about it. She immediately grabbed her friend in a hug. "You're the best, Junie," she said. "Thank you."

"Eight A.M., I imagine?" she replied, but she hugged Athena back and sounded pleased with herself. "Okay, I'll be there."

They let go of each other, and Athena pressed the walk button for her. She started walking back. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow!"

Athena's smile stuck around until she reached the office, and her step was a little lighter. She had almost forgotten her failure until she faced the office door. Phoenix, Apollo, and even Trucy were all gathered in there now.

"Great," she muttered to herself, and she opened the door a crack.

"You should have seen the look on that witness's face!" Apollo said, drumming his fingers on Athena's desk.

"What did Prosecutor Blackquill do?" Phoenix asked.

"He didn't look surprised."

"Sounds about right."

Athena closed her eyes. Apollo had seen Simon more recently than her. She was a horrible friend. This thought made her open the door all the way without much thinking about it.

"The last of the trio returns!" Trucy threw her arms in the air. Her cape swung with her, and not for the first time, she reminded Athena of some kind of superhero. "How did your first trial solo go?"

Athena didn't want to answer this question so soon. She edged around Apollo and sat down at her desk, taking out the manila folder.

"It's going into tomorrow," she replied shortly, and she dropped the folder on the desk harder than she meant.

A silence greeted her words. She didn't want to look up at them, see any form of pity or shame in their eyes, so she opened up her folder and pretended to review it again. Even though she was pretty sure that if she looked at this stuff again she was going to scream.

"Did Gaspen give you a hard time?" Phoenix said at last, and he sounded like...well, Phoenix. It's okay, everything's okay Phoenix. But the three of them never could remember Athena's hearing, even though that was pretty much why Phoenix hired her in the first place. She could hear the underlying emotion. She found surprise... and disappointment. Her lip curled.

"Well, it's the Royal Payne," she said, trying to make her voice light. It didn't work. "No more than usual. Especially with a salary cut."

"Athena."

She looked up at Apollo's voice, and really wished she hadn't. Their faces... they were exactly how she feared. Even Trucy looked a little somber, even though she probably didn't know the finer details of the case.

"Do you need me to go in there with you tomorrow?" Apollo scratched the back of his neck, and Phoenix seemed to be combing her for whatever possibly could be wrong. "I have the day off."

"No." Athena didn't even have to think about it. "I have it."

"But-"

"I said..." Her eyes narrowed as she pressed Widget and opened its screen. She started putting the evidence in the data, "I have it."

"Don't you usually have that stuff in Widget though?" Apollo pushed. He never really knew when to stop. Athena had to bite her tongue to stop from snapping at him.

"A lot of this is new."

Everyone in the room knew that was a lie. She usually filed her evidence in Widget right away, no matter how new it was. She had forgotten to do it. She forgot because first she was nervous, and then Gaspen Payne started talking over her again, and then she started shutting down. It was a miracle the defendant let her stay on the case.

Athena sighed. She wasn't being fair, she knew. They were just concerned. Even if their concern weighed a _little_ too loudly in their voices...

"I'm sorry." She closed down Widget and looked at them. "I just choked, that's all. I know what I did wrong and everything. I appreciate your concern, but it's fine. I'm fine."

"Careful. You sound like me," Apollo said wryly, but his shoulders relaxed.

"Probably because I'm around you all the time," she quipped, standing up and nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. "It's a wonder I haven't gone deaf yet."

Phoenix still looked hesitant. He stood in probably the only clean area of the entire place. His typical blue suit looked cleaner than usual too, like he had something other than a trial happening today. _Nah._ Athena was probably imagining things. "Well, you still sound like yourself," he said slowly, like he wasn't quite convinced.

"Come on, Boss!" she did her best to beam at him, and she thought she did a good job this time around. "Your skin is going to sag if you keep frowning like that."

"...I'm pretty sure that's not how that works."

"Whatever." The subject of cleanliness reminded her of something. She pointed to the note she left on his desk, on top of the papers. "Oh, before I forget, look at that sticky. I don't know if you'll ever see it again."

He reached over and picked it up with two fingers. "Ah, right you are." He looked at the mess of mostly Trucy's things, but the paperwork and fresh cases were getting rather scary too. "I'll do that this weekend."

"And I think your plant died again," Athena said, and she grinned. Diversion accomplished. They completely forgotten about the case.

"It just needs water," Phoenix said rather defensively, and Trucy started laughing.

"You forgot to say 'Objection,' Daddy."

"It wasn't worth one."

"Boss, I'll lock up when I'm done," Athena told him over their bickering. "I'm sure you three want to get dinner."

All of them frowned again, and Athena sighed to herself. And she had worked so hard to get them not like that...

"We were going to pick you up and go to Eldoon's, though," Apollo said. "It's your favorite. We thought after your first case..."

He trailed off, and Athena felt her bad mood start to return.

"I'm not very hungry. I had a bite with Juniper." Athena started to rummage through her desk, looking for other folders that still needed to be transferred into Widget. "I have some stuff to do anyway. I'll be fine. Maybe we can get another client while you two are gone."

"But-"

Trucy grabbed Apollo and Phoenix by their suits at their necks. "You heard her, guys. I'm starving. Let's go."

They complained all the way as Trucy pushed them out the door. Athena could have sworn she heard Trucy hiss "Do you two still don't know when a girl needs her space?" before the door shut. She had the best people on her side.

Her stomach sank a little regardless. She had to nail the trial the next day now, especially since she told Phoenix and Apollo she could do it, and now, she had no idea if she even could pull it off.

So Athena did what she always did when she started to get scared: she got to work.

She had talked to the defendant that morning. Luckily, he seemed a little too dimwitted to realize what she had done wrong during the trial, and she gave him assurances she would do her best. (And hopefully her best wasn't as pathetic as it was today.) All she could really do was move evidence from closed cases into Widget until it was time to close the office, and go home.

Athena really didn't want to go home. Especially when so much felt unfinished.

She got her new apartment about a month after the case that cleared her name. It was small, but she rather liked it that way. She didn't have a roommate, and she could put her things anywhere she wanted. But having something to call her own was like an extra friend, one who couldn't tell her things were okay. Coming home when she mucked things up so badly felt like being judged, like she didn't deserve this little thing to call her own when she had been on the move for so long. Studying abroad in Europe gave her weird attachments to things.

" _Das ist albern_ ," she muttered. It wasn't worth thinking about at the moment. She would have to close the office soon. It didn't look like anyone would be asking for their services today.

She got up to get a drink of water from the sink in the bathroom, and started to clean up her desk. She turned off Widget and started turning off the lights, making sure to start from the back and work her way to the front. There were far many things to trip over if she attempted any other method. She flipped the sign towards the dark sky, and saw that it was still raining. The weather channel this morning said it was supposed to stop for tomorrow. Her heart lifted a little. Maybe that would help. Some sunny weather.

She was taking another sip of water when she saw something glinting on the ground. Athena's eyes narrowed. It was near the corner of her desk, like it had fallen off. She bent down to take a look at it. She knew she hadn't put anything shiny on the edge like that... did Apollo mix up his desk with hers again?

She heard the door open, and since she was distracted, she stayed near the ground while looking over her shoulder. "We're-"

The first thing she noticed were those gray piercing eyes she would never forget, still saw in her dreams now and then. Then the black and white hair, still long, the dark clothes. The taut mouth. The darkness. Several things happened in quick succession.

Her head jerked up and hit her desk, and she let out an "Ow!" when the cup trembled above her, and then fell off. It landed on her leg and spilled, soaking her leggings and the carpet below. _At least it was close to empty..._

Simon Blackquill just looked at her, and as much as it made Athena squirm, she couldn't look away. She never could read him; he had to speak for her to gain any sort of ground on his emotions, but his frown furrowed deeper than usual. She rubbed her head, checking for any sort of bump. She couldn't find one, but her skin felt hot.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

His rough voice shot through Athena like a lightning bolt and it took away any immediate response. The skin around her eyes felt stretched from being so wide.

"Well, you know me." Athena's voice shook, and she could have smacked herself for it. Just because she hadn't seen him for a few months... and felt guilty earlier for it... she hung her head. She was such a moron. "I jump at everything."

Simon tilted his head, in a way his hair shifted to the side and she could see his eyes better. They were paralyzing, as always. Athena let out a deep breath. It wasn't fair. He was just as intense outside the courtroom as in it. "Is that so," he murmured. "Can't say I've noticed."

 _That would make you the only one..._

She looked down, scratching her neck in embarrassment, and remembered the object she wanted to investigate initially. She picked it up and set it on her desk, and started to stand up.

Simon extended an arm. Athena stared at it for a moment before taking his hand, getting to her feet. His skin was just as rough as she expected, but she found herself wanting to hold on just a second longer before letting go. Maybe because it had been a while. Maybe because she still couldn't believe they were both okay after so long. Maybe for old times' sake.

"Thank you," she said, and she made a show of dusting herself off. "What are you doing here? It's late."

"I could ask the same of you," he pointed out. "You're the only one here."

Athena shrugged. "I was just about to close the office. Just working on something for a trial tomorrow, that's all."

"The vehicular manslaughter case, right?"

She froze for a second, and looked at her boots. Her palms clenched into fists. "How did you know?"

Simon turned his head. "Gaspen has a hard time being quiet around the offices."

"Oh. Great."

They stood there in awkward silence. Athena definitely wasn't going to talk about her case, not with him. Simon looked comfortable enough, looking around the office and looking at her occasionally. Athena wasn't sure what he was looking for. She rocked back on her heels.

"Simon, you usually aren't one for spontaneous visits."

He let out a dry laugh, not something Athena was used to. She knew his dark, mischievous laughter in the courtroom. She knew his mocking one, often pointed at the judge or even at her, when he was on death row. But not this small one, small and dry but genuine. Athena found herself warmed by it, even though she wasn't sure why.

"You don't know that," he told her with a slight smile. "I've only been out of prison for a year."

Athena felt like she was behind the defense bench, and she didn't understand why. "Sure," she said quietly, crossing her arms, "but I like to think I know you at least a little."

The air seemed charged. She looked away from him, at her desk, what she found. It looked crumpled, a piece of metal. The hair on the back of her neck raised. There were very few things this object could possibly be...

"I need to close," Athena found herself saying. "Where do you live now? I can drive you home, if you need..." she trailed off.

"My car is parked at the offices, but thank you."

He had his own car. Athena let her arms fall to her sides, and she shoved the trial and the strange object on her desk out of her mind. "Really? That's great!" Her face broke out into a huge grin, and for the first time that day, she felt a bubble of happiness burst in her stomach. "You're adjusting, then."

He shrugged, and it was the first time Athena saw something flash through his eyes. It was too quick to tell for sure. He looked at her for a while, as if gauging a reaction, and Athena thought he was going to not say anything. The smile dropped from her face.

Simon sighed, and it was an odd sound for him. Like he was being forced to, rather than something involuntary. "Something like that."

Discord.

Athena opened her mouth to say something, but she thought better of it and closed it. He clearly didn't want to talk about it, and she had plenty she didn't want to say herself. "I'm glad to hear it," she said, but she sounded too formal. She made her way to the door, having to brush past him to do so, and her stomach fluttered. "I have to go home. Well, not home, I guess. It's this silly little apartment that I've leased. It looks ridiculous, and..."

 _You're rambling._

Athena wished she wore her hair down. Her neck had to have a huge flush on it by now. "Sorry. I still can't shut up."

"It's okay," he said lightly from behind her, and he started to walk down towards the office. "Farewell, Athena."

She stared after him as he made his way into the darkness. Her ears still cringed from the noise level in his voice, and for the first time today, her biggest concern wasn't the upcoming trial. A random smile pulled her lips. Even though something was bothering Simon, she was glad for even a short visit from him.

"Yeah," she said at last, but quietly and he was too far to hear her anyway. "See you."

* * *

 _Das ist albern -_ This is silly in German

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

"Murgh... ack."

Athena was prone to great thoughts of wisdom upon waking up.

She kicked her legs to the side and dragged herself out of bed at 6:30 in the morning. She didn't get much sleep, and she knew without looking at it that her hair was going to be an adventure to tame. Her plain white blankets were crinkled and bunched up in places, and the sheets were peeling off in a corner. She pulled on her yellow suit at the same time of taking the one from yesterday and throwing it in the hamper.

Once she was in the kitchen, she turned on the coffee maker and sighed. Breakfast wasn't likely at this stage; her stomach jumped with knots and butterflies. If only Apollo could see her now; he usually complained about her stuffing her face with food. Especially if he was the one paying. But she could feel her nerves in her veins, and she only sipped her coffee instead of chugging the whole thing like she usually did. The merest amount of caffeine danced in her blood, even though she hardly slept.

It was a half hour bike ride to the courtroom, and Athena never hated the commute as much as she did in that instant. The last thing she needed was more time to think.

" _Respira,"_ she said to herself. She pedaled faster, focusing on speed instead of her thoughts. "You have this."

Once she arrived, she parked her bright blue bike in the racks and locked it up. She faced the courthouse and, squaring her shoulders, proceeded inside.

The defendant lobby was empty, not that it surprised Athena much. It was only 7:30 at this point, and this particular client usually arrived 15 minutes early. She opened Widget and began to look through the evidence again, even though she had it memorized by now.

At least Juniper would be in the gallery this time. Athena still dreaded the courtroom, and she rested her temples in her hands.

"Well, that's not reassuring."

Athena looked up so fast that she thought she would have whiplash, or at least a crick in her neck. Her client was an older man by the name of Stephen Awry, at least fifteen years older than her boss, with kind blue eyes and a permanent curl of his lips. He was what she imagined her grandfather would look like, if he was still alive.

Only Gaspen Payne could look at this man and think he was guilty of murder.

"I'm sorry," she said, giving him a slight smile. She had told him that, as well as many other people, far too many times lately. "I didn't sleep much last night. I've memorized every detail of the case, though, so there's that. I know the angle I'm going to push, too."

He didn't say anything, and Athena looked away from him. He did say he was fine with her staying as his lawyer, for some reason, but did he regret that choice? Did police questioning, or something else, change his mind?

"We need to go in now," she found herself saying, and she stood up. "It's eight o'clock." She didn't see Juniper yet, which was odd. Juniper usually joined them in the lobby before the trial started, if she was watching. She shrugged it off. Juniper was a woman of her word. She would show up, and watch from the gallery. Athena wasn't worried about that, at least. Her client nodded and stood up, his face unreadable.

"I'll prove your innocence," she added quietly. "I promise."

He paused for a few moments, before nodding again. She felt her relief rise in her throat. He still had some faith in her.

Athena took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders and heading towards the big double doors. She could do this. She would finish it today. She let herself smile, and take her place behind the defense bench.

* * *

Gaspen Payne had a rather annoying habit of crushing smiles where they stood. It felt like only seconds until Athena was gritting her teeth and clenching her fists at her sides. She took a deep breath as he continued the case from the day before, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"We have investigated the alibi that the defense had hinted at last time," he said in his self-righteous tone that made Widget immediately glow red. "It doesn't hold water."

"The defense would have made more than a hint yesterday," Athena retorted through gritted teeth, "if the prosecution didn't have such a habit of interrupting everything."

The prosecutor shrugged behind his bench, as if he didn't have a care in the world, but the smirk on his face belied his action. "That's your problem, not mine."

"Your Honor." Athena slammed both palms on the bench and leaned forward to punctuate the words, and glared at the prosecutor while she continued. "The defendant does have an alibi in place, and it does hold water, unlike how the prosecution would like to lead this court to believe."

The judge, familiar to her now, nodded. "Continue, Ms. Cykes."

Athena nodded and leaned back on her heels. She never had a problem getting this far. It was getting that jerk across from her to stop talking...

It really was a cut and dry case. The prosecution was arguing for a vehicular manslaughter charge, much different than the usual first degree murder. The victim was mountain biking, up on a curve on the road that overlooked a reservoir. Her client had apparently rammed the biker into the rail with his car, killing him instantly. A witness had supposedly observed this, a pretty blonde that liked to insert the words "like" and "um at least five times in each sentence. Athena snorted. Based on her testimony yesterday, it would be easy enough to disprove it.

"My client had a doctor appointment around the time the victim was killed," Athena said. "I do have documentation supporting his visit, and they have time stamps. The testimony given from yesterday is invalid. I'm not sure-"

"The documentation was provided to the defense by the defendant," Gaspen dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Easy enough to fake."

"I wasn't finished-"

"We can call the witness back," Gaspen added. "I'm sure we can get more testimony from her, if the defense feels like cross-examining this time."

Athena's fists clenched.

"As I already mentioned, the prosecution has investigated the doctor appointment mentioned..."

"I'm sure you have," Athena muttered. She straightened and put her hands on her hips.

"And like I already said, it doesn't hold water. Your Honor, I call the first witness from yesterday."

The judge shrugged. "Does the defense have any objections?"

 _Can I object to this prosecutor?_ Athena sighed, and then put on a bright smile. She would just have to get her point across in the cross-examining. "None at all, Your Honor!"

That sounded only a little strained.

The judge gave her a long look before looking straight ahead. "If you say so. Bailiff, please escort the witness from the lobby."

Athena turned on Widget, typing in her password and the key phrases to find the case quickly. She still had record of the witness's testimony, and it didn't mention Mr. Awry's doctor appointment, or lack thereof, not once. Athena narrowed her eyes at the prosecutor from behind the bench across from her, and he gave her a smirk in response. _What is he playing at...?_

The witness, Clarisse Whiton, was in a different sundress than yesterday, but she had the same look about her. Hardly any makeup, a huge floppy straw hat, and flip flops. Yesterday, Athena was pretty starstruck by how pretty she was... until she opened her mouth.

The witness gave a huff of breath, like the courtroom offended her. Athena could never understand how some people didn't give this place a second thought. She was still seized by the large open space, the sleek wood that had seen murderers all too often, and the judge so high up who had the final say. Athena shook her head. Bad train of thought. Bad train of thought.

She didn't need to psych herself out before the first witness even spoke.

"I, like, don't even get why I'm here." Clarisse's voice went up to three different octaves and tilted upwards at the end, like she was asking a question. Athena's ears hurt just from listening to her. "I already, um, like, gave my testimony yesterday."

"We're aware, Ms. Whiton," Gaspen said in a voice that he tried to make soothing. "I just need you to clarify something for me, and then I can call the next witness."

The witness tossed her hair and somehow managed to keep her hat in exactly the same place. Athena stared at her for a minute, trying to figure out how she did that.

 _Oh, forget it. There's a reason why I have my hair up all the time._

"Ugh. I'll just, like, repeat the whole _thing._ That lawyer seems a little, oh I don't know... brainless? She didn't even, like, ask me much yesterday."

"No!" Athena blurted out. "I just-"

"Rehashing yesterday's testimony won't hurt anything," Gaspen said. "Especially for our defense lead."

Athena said nothing, even though she had to bite her tongue to do so. There was always that chance that the witness would say something new... that's what Apollo or Mr. Wright would tell her, anyway.

"Okay," the judge said. "Ms. Whiton, your testimony, if you please."

"I was driving behind this guy," the witness jerked her thumb towards the defendant. "He was driving a black car, like I said yesterday. The road there, like, curves a lot so I could see him in the driver's side window at two points. He was driving a lot faster than me, which is scary. It's like, dangerous, you know?"

"Any objections, Ms. Cykes?"

Athena jerked her head up. This wasn't a standard question in any trial, whether she was co-counsel or otherwise. Gaspen was simpering at her on the other side.

"Wipe that smile off, bozo!"

She was wondering when Widget would pipe up, and of course it was at the wrong moment. Athena flushed and clutched at Widget, hoping it wouldn't say anything else.

"Did you just-"

"I have none so far, Mr. Payne," Athena said quickly, hoping that the judge didn't hear. "Mostly because I have yet to hear anything decisive and not pure conjecture."

"That's rich, coming from you-"

"Can I like, continue my testimony?" Clarisse rolled her eyes. "I wasn't finished."

"The prosecution and the defense will refrain from petty squabbles," the judge said. "Please continue, Ms. Whiton."

"Thank you. Anyway..."

And blah, blah, blah. Athena played with her earring, flicking it back and forth while she testified. The defendant couldn't have had a doctor's appointment, because she saw him driving. She didn't see the moment of the incident, because she trailed too far behind, but she did see the black car loop around and the victim lying motionless on the ground.

"Oh, and I took a picture."

Well, _that_ was news.

"Excuse me?" Athena said. "Why wasn't this mentioned yesterday?"

Clarisse shrugged. "You were too busy arguing with Mr. Thinks-He's-Suave over there..." she flicked her wrist towards the prosecution, "and then you went all quiet. Nothing needed to be said."

Athena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What is the picture? And weren't you driving at the time?"

"The witness snapped a picture with her phone when the car drove around, and we have a clear view of the license plate. We ran the plates with the DMV, and sure enough, it's the defendant's car."

Athena was silent. She opened up Widget and put in the information.

"Is the defense going to say anything?" Gaspen pushed, pushing his stupid sunglasses up his nose.

"May I have a copy of the photo?"

The bailiff came to give her the picture. She thanked him and scrutinized it. The focus of the picture wasn't the car, but the prosecutor was right. The license plate number was visible.

"My client is an older gentleman who sometimes needs help with daily activities," Athena replied, closing Widget's screen and putting her hands on her hips. "He has hired help to run errands and the like occasionally. He lets the assistant use his car in return. Clearly the assistant was interested in a big of sightseeing or something else. It doesn't matter much."

The judge let out a 'hmm' sound. "Are you planning on indicting this assistant? Is that your angle?"

"No, it's not."

Gaspen stared at her. "Then what are you trying to push?"

"I won't be trying to push anything until we call the next witness." Athena tried to sound calm. Things could go badly with the next one, with testimony she hadn't heard already... "I understand the witness thinks that she saw my client, and that it was my client's car. Is that all we need from her?"

The judge squinted at her, and Athena began to squirm under his gaze. "You are more... sullen than usual, Ms. Cykes."

 _Only because I'm terrified and this witness hurts my ears, but thanks for noticing._

"No kidding!" Widget said.

"No!" she hissed at it. "Stop!"

"...okay. Does the prosecution require anything else from this witness?"

"The current witness can step down," Gaspen replied. "I now call the doctor that supposedly had an appointment with the client."

Athena straightened, squaring her shoulders. This was her defendant's alibi, and it was plain to see that Gaspen was going to do his best to take that away from her. But Gaspen's pay cut meant that his cases were not nearly as big and important as he thought they were. Athena was prepared; she just had to deliver.

She realized that her fingers around her hips were shaking. She tightened her grip and let out a slow breath. She could do this.

Clarisse stepped down off the stand and left the courtroom. As she passed into the lobby, what Athena presumed to be the doctor passed her and stood on the witness stand. He was nothing like Clarisse. He held himself with no sort of confidence, and his hair stuck at weird angles. He was about her defendant's age, and his eyes darted like birds around the courtroom.

"Name and occupation?" Gaspen asked.

"Shawn McBride," he answered, and his voice was a jittery mess. It made Athena dizzy listening to it. "Doctor at a local clinic."

"We need you to testify whether the defendant had an appointment with you at the time of the victim's death," Gaspen said. "This was three days ago at approximately 3pm."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, yes, certainly. I remember all of my clients for that day. And Stephen Awry was not one of them."

Athena saw this coming, but that didn't mean she wasn't appalled at the audacity. "We have paperwork proving he was at the clinic," she blurted out, slamming her palm on the desk. "The defendant has also testified to the appointment."

The doctor looked at her, and his gaze made her uneasy. "The prosecutor told me that the defendant provided the documentation," he said slowly. "Surely you realize he could have fabricated it?"

Athena shook her head before looking at the judge. "The defense requests that the witness testify about the work day on the day the victim was killed."

The judge nodded. "Granted. Dr. McBride, if you please."

It went on like this for a while. The doctor's testimony was so vague that Athena had to press every statement, and it was like draining blood from a stone. Athena knew this was deliberate, that he was hiding the truth, that much was clear from his voice. She heard discord the moment he stepped on the stand. But Gaspen Payne wasn't making it easy for her either.

"That's enough from the defense," Gaspen snapped. "It's clear this cross-examination is going nowhere."

"But I'm not-"

Gaspen turned dramatically to the judge. "The defense isn't getting any new information from the witness, Your Honor. The defendant no longer has an alibi, and a witness saw him driving where the victim was killed. There is no need to continue this trial."

Athena clenched her jaw. She got one key point out of the witness, as vague as it was, and if she could use it correctly, the trial would be over.

The judge looked at Athena, and she froze up. She couldn't help it. She opened her mouth, and she hated how weak she sounded. "I'm not done-"

"Yes, you are," Gaspen said. "This shouldn't have even gone to the second day."

 _Damn it!_

Without thinking, Athena's eyes darted to the gallery, the audience of this trial. It was smaller since it wasn't a first degree murder case, and because of it, she found Juniper pretty easily. Juniper noticed her looking and smiled, but Athena barely noticed. It was because of who was sitting next to her best friend.

Simon Blackquill looked totally out of place. He was still in his usual clothes, hair tied back, and Athena's first response was to be on the defensive, having been on the opposite end of his prosecuting enough times. But the harsh look that became him behind the prosecutor's bench was gone, out of his eyes and mouth. He didn't smile at her, but it wasn't needed. His eyes looked almost gentle, even with his hair in his face.

Heat rushed up Athena, all over, and she blushed so furiously that there was no way he couldn't see it. She couldn't figure out why he was here. There was no need for him to be here. Athena hugged herself, and she noticed that Widget had turned black at some point, but she couldn't stop looking at him. It was embarrassing, even mortifying.

It... was just what she needed.

"Your Honor, please give the verdict-"

"Enough!"

Both Gaspen and the judge jumped. Even Athena surprised herself. But the two were finally quiet, and she slammed both hands on the bench.

"I'm not done yet," Athena snapped. "I have a few questions for the witness."

Gaspen recovered first. "I really don't think there's a need-"

"Your Honor!" Athena turned to the judge with a fire lit in her stomach. "I have the right to cross-examine the witness. If the prosecutor can't understand this and stop interrupting me, then he is in contempt of this court!"

That was definitely a bluff.

But the judge's eyes widened, and he seemed thoughtful. "Mr. Payne, I'm going to have to ask you to stop talking over the defense. Please carry on, Ms. Cykes."

 _Score!_

Athena turned back towards the witness, who now seemed very nervous and scared. He shook perceptibly, and his hair seemed even more static-filled than before. "You said that you were having car trouble that morning," she told him. "Can you tell me more about that?"

"I don't see how it's related to the case..."

"You said that you left the office to replace the battery during the afternoon. If it was at any time near when my client was supposed to have an appointment, it's related to the case."

"I was running late to the office because I needed a jump. I had a spare battery in my trunk, so I changed the two during my lunch break. Nothing strange about that."

Athena shrugged. "Not in of itself. I have a question for you though. Do you know Clarisse Whiton?"

"Objection!" Gaspen seemed to recover from Athena taking over. She glared at him, and he stumbled over his words. "The-the defense is asking leading questions!"

"Your Honor, I have proof the two know each other," Athena said, while still looking intently at the witness. "I've seen a photograph of the two in the doctor's office."

"Hmm..." the judge looked thoughtful. "Is there a point to the two knowing each other?"

"I'm getting to it."

"Go on, then."

"I'm going to say to the court right now that Clarisse Whiton is not a very good driver," Athena said. "That should be plain to see, because she took a picture on her phone while driving. Considering the license plate number isn't even the main focus in the picture, she was clearly looking at something else. That's never a good plan on the road." She took a deep breath. "Dr. McBride, I'm going to take a guess and say your car is painted green."

He reared back. "How did you-"

"My investigation found green paint on the rail where the victim was killed," she said. "Tests say that it's definitely paint from a car."

Gaspen reared back. "What?!"

"My client's car is black," Athena continued, letting a smile come on her face. "There is no damage to Stephen's car except for a few scratches, which happened before the day of the crime, and while the prosecution will argue that the victim died from a bump that wasn't enough to dent the car, the doctor's car was damaged enough to leave paint on the rail. If someone investigates the car, that will be plain to see."

"This is-"

"The truth," Athena said, putting her hands on both hips. "I will thank you for the picture, though. I was wondering how the doctor managed to clear records of my client and run someone over in such a short period of time, but clearly Clarisse was the one driving." Athena hid a laugh behind her hand. "Again, I'm grateful."

The trial wrapped up shortly after that, with Clarisse screaming behind the witness stand. She would be charged, and the doctor would be seen as an accomplice. Athena walked with her client to the defendant lobby after his sentence of "Not Guilty."

"I'm not going to lie. I was worried for a bit." Stephen smiled at her.

"Yeah, me too," Athena admitted. She gave him a small, hopefully apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for putting you through something so stressful."

He shrugged, and patted her shoulder. His eyes were warm. "All's well that ends well, don't you think?"

"Thena!"

"Junie!" Athena saw her friend pass through the doors of the lobby. She turned to her client. "Thanks for believing in me."

Stephen smiled at her, the creases of his face lifting. "No, thank you."

"You're welcome. I was just doing my job." Athena grinned. "See you around."

Stephen snorted. "No offense, but I hope not."

"Thena, you were wonderful!"

Stephen was just leaving when Juniper wrapped her in a huge hug. Athena returned the gesture, but not too tightly. Juniper still coughed easily. "You came!"

"I'm sorry I didn't come early enough to see you into the courtroom," Juniper said when they both stepped back. "I was up late doing schoolwork and I overslept. You did see me though, right? You looked over at us."

 _Us._ "I did see you!" Athena frowned. "I wasn't expecting Simon, though. Did you invite him?"

Juniper shook her head. "No, I didn't. He just about scared the life out of me when he just appeared out of nowhere and asked to sit next to me though. He's always had an interesting sense of timing."

"Isn't that the truth," Athena muttered. "Where is he now?"

"He left shortly after the trial."

Athena nodded to herself, and she tugged the bottom of her yellow outfit. "Sounds about right. I wonder what he was doing."

Juniper just smiled at her.

Athena frowned, and then another blush came. "No. _No._ We are not going through this."

Juniper shrugged and took out her knitting. She weaved several rows, but Athena could tell she was fighting a smile the entire time. "You do it to me."

Athena shook her head. "Not the same thing."

Juniper narrowed her eyes and smiled, a sly smile that didn't seem to fit her face, but she changed the subject, much to Athena's relief. "I only have one class today. Maybe you could come over? It's been forever."

"Oh, that would be lovely!" Athena clapped her hands. "I haven't been to the mountains in a long while."

Juniper walked her out of the courtroom. "I could use some help with an assignment I have, and my parents have been asking about you. Are you sure it's okay?"

"I'll have to clear it with Mr. Wright, but I'm sure he'll be fine with it." Athena squirmed. "I'm all excited now."

Juniper laughed. It had started raining lightly again while they were inside. It stopped, but the grass was wet and there were small puddles on the road. "We can drink tea and I can find you some flowers that you like. And talk about boys."

"Ugh. Don't even start."

* * *

 _Respira -_ Breathe in Spanish.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

"Holy _wow_." Hot tea splattered Athena's lips as she coughed, and she wiped away the liquid with almost a desperation. "What did you put in that?"

Juniper looked up at the ceiling as she sipped her tea, and Athena marveled at her expression. It didn't change once. No pursed lips, eyes squinting, or anything. "Lotus root, dandelion greens, wild chamomile, one bay leaf, and green tea leaves. My special blend." She eyed her cup before placing it down. "I may have steeped it a bit too long, though..."

 _You think?!_

"This is amazing, Junie," Athena said honestly. "This could drop an elephant, but it's amazing." She took another sip to take the sting from her words, and barely managed to hold it down. "I mean, sorry..."

Juniper laughed. Athena marveled at how they've both grown, such teasing used to make them both shrink back and not talk for ages. "You're just not used to it, that's all. Here." She plopped a mason jar and a pitcher of water in front of Athena. "Honey. It should tone it down. If that's not enough, add some water."

Athena did both, and took another sip. She stared at it for a little while, but it went down smoothly enough. "Interesting." _I'll just stick with coffee at home..._ She took several sips anyway. It was drinkable, at least.

The two were sitting at Juniper's massive living room table, surrounded by huge open windows that showed the mountain life outside. Athena had spotted two chipmunks and a squirrel so far among the pine trees, but she was sure she was missing a whole host of things.

"This brings back memories," Athena said, staring outside. "I forgot how pretty this is."

Juniper nodded. They had turned on the TV to fill the silence, but they were content to just look outside and sip tea, once it wasn't so strong. They talked only occasionally, because Juniper and Athena loved the silence.

"I told you it was an easy case, though," Athena said at last. "I didn't even need the Mood Matrix."

Juniper shrugged. "It's not a big deal, Thena. Everyone needs help sometimes."

 _I would like to stop needing help though..._ Athena knew that sounded bitter, so she kept it to herself. "I know. It's just frustrating. Once I found my voice, everything was fine."

Juniper took a few more sips of tea. "I guess you have to learn how to find it now. You know how to speak in a crowd just fine. Now you just need to learn to speak on your own."

Athena stared at her. "Did you get more insightful while I was gone? Or are you just smart?"

Juniper laughed and stood up. "It's what happens when you're alone with your own thoughts enough. No one comes up here."

Athena could see that. Even as a child, she thought this place was mesmerizing, beautiful... and her mother wanted her to come up here as well. She said that the silence would do her wonders, as well as the clean mountain air. Athena felt more lively just being back. Maybe it was nostalgia.

"I definitely have to come back more often," she said cheerfully.

Juniper smiled and stood up with her empty mug. "You're always welcome; you should know that. Do you want to help me out with something?"

"What?"

"I'm on dinner duty tonight. My parents aren't coming home till late." Juniper's cheeks were a little red. "There's this stir-fry I usually make, since it's easy, but it's still a lot easier with another person."

Athena jumped to her feet and walked around the long table, following her friend into the kitchen. "I'm on it."

The next few hours oriented around chopping vegetables and slicing herbs. The dish had hardly any meat or grains in it, which suited Athena just fine. Juniper helped plant the seed, so to speak, but in Europe, she loved the dishes that weren't drowning in protein and processed half to death. She organized carrots, eggplant, peppers of all different colors, onions, squash...

"Junie, did you grow all of this?"

Juniper shook her head as she fiddled with her oven. She lowered the heat and poured water in the pan. "Not by myself, no. Eggplant is hard to grow up here, and some of these aren't in season anyway. And my parents help with the garden, anyway."

Athena nodded to herself. "I was just wondering."

"What are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh." Athena looked down at the cutting board. She had arranged everything into neat little rows, all the similar colors together. "I've always done that, when I helped my grandparents cook." She carefully picked up the cutting board and handed it to Juniper. "I guess I just like looking at the colors. They seem brighter, all together like that." She rubbed her neck. It sounded a lot sillier out loud. "As weird as that sounds."

"You were always drawing and painting, when we were little." Juniper's response startled Athena, mostly because Athena never thought much about her childhood. "It makes sense. I always thought you were going to be an artist, or a singer, or something."

Athena gave a small laugh. "I stopped drawing when I started studying. All of my artistic sense went into analytical psychology."

Juniper nodded. "It makes sense. I never thought I would be a judge." She slid Athena's vegetables into the pan with a long knife. "Hand me the corn starch and the soy sauce, please? They're on the other side of the sink."

Athena handed them to her. "How are your classes, speaking of which? And Robin and Hugh, how are they?"

"They're going well. I haven't had to miss as many classes as of late, which is good." Juniper looked over and smiled. "Not being in exploding courtrooms has done wonders, I'm sure."

"Junie..." Athena felt guilt for the incident, even though it wasn't her fault. "Are you still frightened of them?"

"Not so much anymore," she said. "I've had to be in them a lot lately. Apollo seems to like it when I go watch."

Athena smothered a giggle with her hand.

"Thena!" It was hard to take the admonishment seriously, since Juniper was half laughing herself.

"I didn't say anything that time!"

"It's a good experience for me, anyway," Juniper said. "Hugh is good. He's started getting 90s on his tests, and he's going to retake them until they hit 100. Robin's been painting and sculpting non-stop, and when she's not doing that, she's prosecuting."

Athena snorted. "Does she break everything she makes to prove a point?"

"At first, but she's toned it down." Juniper stirred a few times and then covered the pot. "Which is good. I think various custodians have pitched a fit about cleaning up her messes."

Athena laughed. "You're lucky, you know." Athena looked outside. "I didn't have those kind of friends when I was studying. It was my fault, but still."

"What do you mean?" Juniper stirred the pan, but she had obviously done it so many times that she could look at Athena at the same time.

"I put all of my energy in studying and exercising," Athena said, leaning back on the counter. "I didn't make time for anything else."

They were silent for a little bit. Juniper seemed thoughtful, her brown eyes pensive, and her stirring seemed half-hearted. She poured the vegetables on top of a light bed of rice and a few chicken pieces, mixing them together. The TV flickered to a familiar scene, but one Athena hadn't seen in so long she couldn't believe it.

"Thena-"

The news channel sent words across the screen that sent chills down Athena's spine. Juniper must have saw it too, because she was stunned to silence. They watched on with horror. A bright blue SUV was shown on its side, crushed and broken among trees in a forest. The scene expanded outwards, past the woods, and Athena knew it was the GYAXA Space Center without even reading the headlines. Fires expanded from the far right wing. The Space Museum, it had to be.

Athena started talking fast without even realizing it. "I have to go."

Juniper could only nod, but Athena almost didn't see it. She ran to the front door as fast as she could. She had to drive to Juniper's since she lived so far away, and Athena raced down the driveway. For a moment, she couldn't see. Her vision flashed white and her hip hit the door as she opened it. It was hard enough to bruise, but Athena barely felt the pain.

"Thena!"

She turned her head, almost agitated. Juniper was running towards her, breathing into the sunflower on top of her head as she did so. "Let me drive you."

Athena's thoughts were wild. "No, no, I can't. I need to get there as soon as possible."

"You're in no shape to drive." Juniper took her hand and gently pulled the keys away from her. "I'll take you."

"But... but your dinner..." Athena couldn't get her mind in order. She felt like the gears of her thoughts were crashing together, clicking and grinding instead of whirling smoothly.

"I put it in a Tupperware container in the fridge. My parents will understand," Juniper said. She put her palm in Athena's hand and pulled her towards her car, a small silver one. "Come on."

Once they were on the road, Juniper drove slowly and carefully Athena thought she was going to scream. She stayed at the speed limit, stopped at the yellow lights, and took turns like an old lady. If Athena were in any other mood, she probably would have had second thoughts on her own driving, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"I can take you back tonight to get your car," Juniper was saying, and she sounded far away. "Or my parents can help me drop it off. It's up to you."

Athena didn't respond. She drummed her fingers on the car's windowsill and rested her chin in the other hand. Her jaw hurt from being held taut. She felt Juniper's eyes on her, and finally she straightened in the seat.

"Eyes on the road, Junie."

"The news didn't make it sound like anyone was hurt," Juniper said. "Well, other than-"

The car. The crushed car that rested on its side in the woods. Athena closed one of her hands into a fist. What was with her and car accidents lately...?

"There's nothing in the Space Museum that can cause a fire," Athena said. "Not on accident, anyway..."

"It could be a short circuit, a fried electric cord-"

"Not under the staff's watch," Athena said tersely.

"It could be anything," Juniper said firmly. "And it doesn't look like the car accident had much to do with it, either. In fact, they don't look related at all."

They were related, at least a little. Athena just didn't have the heart to tell her that. She rested her temples in her hands, clenching her eyes shut.

The news had identified the driver, listing his name underneath the headlines. And Athena had recognized it.

* * *

The fire department had extinguished the Space Museum by the time Athena and Juniper arrived. The damage didn't look too extensive, thankfully. The fire had started on the outside, and a good deal of the exterior was charred. Athena couldn't tell the level of damage just from the car, but the wing was still standing.

Juniper hadn't even pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot before Athena took off her seatbelt and jumped out, running towards the building as fast as she could. As she did so, a few familiar figures took shape: Aura Blackquill, Detective Gumshoe, and Simon. She slowed to a walk the moment she could decipher their voices, and with her ears, she had plenty of time to listen.

"This was not an accident," Aura snarled. "Look at it!"

"I am looking at it," Gumshoe said. "And I don't see what you're seeing."

"The main line generators and the backup generators are supposed to prevent this kind of thing from happening!" Aura threw her arm out towards the building. "I have worked here for over ten years and nothing like this has ever occurred. Well, unless you count the _bombs._ "

"Miss, please calm down-"

"Do not tell me to calm down! You can tell me to calm down after my dear former director says tight enough security to stop a withered old leaf and _actually means it_!"

"Aura," Simon said mildly, but it fell on deaf ears.

"And don't get me started on you detectives-"

Athena stopped walking and she stared up at the building. Her chest felt tight, but other than that, she was doing okay, being here. Aura had to be right, though. Fires didn't happen at the space center unless they were caused by someone else. The place was far too valuable, with the spaceship, the robotics lab, fuel, meteor and rock samples from space...

"Oh look, it's the princess."

Athena snapped out of her reverie to give Aura a cool look. The older woman had been considerably nicer to her since Athena had been proven innocent, and since Apollo had defended her with Athena's help in court, diminishing her sentence for taking hostages considerably. But Aura was a prickly woman, and that wasn't about to change.

That was fine, because Athena wasn't in the mood to be nice. "You must be on probation," she said.

Aura snorted. "I really don't have any interest in small talk. If you haven't noticed, the Space Center was on fire. Again."

Athena ignored her. Simon's face was unreadable, as always, but his eyes were a deadly narrow and his pupils resembled a cat's. He didn't react much upon seeing Athena, but she couldn't blame him. There were much bigger things to worry about. She turned towards the detective, who seemed to entirely miss the tension in the air. As usual.

"Has the car crash near by been investigated yet?"

Gumshoe shook his head. "The driver was the only one who survived, and there were four people in the car. He has been taken to the hospital, but there isn't any indication that it was anything but an accident. My priority is the issue here."

Aura crossed her arms. She looked odd without Clonco by her side, but Athena thought she saw the robot assisting Ponco and other, human repairmen at the Space Museum. Athena was too agitated to be warmed by the sight.

"Finally, the good detective makes sense," Aura muttered.

"Hey!"

Athena couldn't get her head to work. She needed to tell the detective what he needed to know, but... "The two are related."

"That's a fighting statement," Simon murmured. "You must be sure."

Athena rounded towards Aura. "Ms. Blackquill, the driver's name is Caden Barrow."

That got Aura's attention, just as she hoped. She watched as all the blood drained from Simon's sister's face.

"No," she whispered.

Gumshoe's eyebrows furrowed. "That mean something to you?"

Aura rested her temples in her hands. "I am too old for this crap," she muttered under her breath, before looking at the sky. "Detective, where was the car wreck?"

Gumshoe buried his hands deep in his pockets, and he looked apprehensive. "A few miles from here, still in the woods."

Athena held her arm. Widget turned blue, and she had to try to not shake. She heard movement shifting towards her, and when she looked up, she saw Simon look at her. She couldn't hold his gaze for long. Her mind couldn't stop racing.

"Simon, you need to have that crash looked at," Aura said, and Athena heard something odd. She never thought she would ever see Aura chew her lip like that, but in these days, anything is possible. "Caden Barrow used to be an intern here. He studied under Metis before you did."

Simon stiffened. Athena could practically hear his bones lock, his muscles tighten. He had his phone up to his ear in a matter of seconds, and he walked away from them without another word. Athena stared at his back, wondering what he was saying. Did he hold the same sway over the police department? Would he get more information on Caden?

"I'm surprised you even remember Caden." Aura's voice was clipped, but she didn't have the same dangerous expression to match it. She was shaken by the news. No doubt about it.

Gumshoe began to wander off, muttering that he needed to check on the Museum, and Athena couldn't blame him. The air was charged enough. Athena couldn't stop fidgeting. She felt like she needed to _do_ something, but she couldn't think of what.

Aura continued to talk, despite her earlier words. Maybe she was trying to distract herself. "You were like, what? Five?"

"Six," Athena replied. "2015, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Aura rocked back on her heels. They still couldn't carry a conversation worth anything. Athena didn't suppose the older woman could drop seven years of hatred so easily, even if it was unwarranted. Well, Athena could try to help, maybe...

"I, um." Athena tried to think of something to say. "I like your hair."

Aura gave her a look. "It's the same as it always is."

Okay then.

"Do you still have Caden's files, or something?" Athena decided sticking to business would be best. "Any records... the police could find them helpful."

Aura's glare lifted away, and she looked thoughtful. "Maybe. Come with me. I could use some help finding them."

Athena felt grateful to move around, instead of just waiting for Simon. "Okay. Let me tell my ride I'm going to be a while."

Aura shrugged as she began to walk back to the Space Center. "Tell her to come help. The lab is a disaster."

It was twenty minutes until Athena and Juniper found themselves in the robotics lab, because of Juniper's health. Athena gave her a brief summary of the situation now that she knew more about it, and Juniper's coughs restarted. Athena kept a hand on her back and Juniper gave her a small, appreciative smile.

"Are you okay?" Juniper said in a low voice. It was such a Juniper thing to do. Here she was, coughing up a lung, and she was more worried about Athena.

"Yeah," Athena said, but she sounded unsure even to her own ears. "I'm fine."

It was the first time she had been in this room since her mother was murdered.

She didn't understand how Aura could work here day after day. The room looked different, sure. Athena's mother had been always extremely neat and tidy, and Aura had turned the lab into little more than a scrap heap. Athena could hardly take her eyes off the giant robot near the work bench, the one that looked like it belonged in a Godzilla movie rather than the Space Center lab, with the wide red base and the glaring eyes. Ponco and Clonco were whirling around, carrying various parts, and dumped them rather unceremoniously near the disassembly table. Athena's jaw tightened, and she swallowed hard.

"Is there a reason that girl is breathing into a sunflower on her head?"

Aura was leaning on a file cabinet behind the table. But she wasn't looking at Juniper; she was looking at Athena. Athena concentrated on the robot instead of her. She felt like Aura could see her every weakness, and she probably could.

"I have a cough," Juniper said. Athena felt a slight nudge from her friend, and it somehow calmed her. "It helps me."

"Weird." Aura turned to looking through the cabinet. "Princess, there's a row of cabinets behind you. Look through there. You, come here and help me out."

"My name is Juniper."

"That's nice. Get going."

Juniper tugged on Athena's sleeve. "Is she always like this?"

"Yes," Athena whispered back. "This is Aura Blackquill. Simon's sister. I don't know if you remember her."

Juniper's eyes grew wide. "Oh."

"Are you two going to whisper all day or are you going to be useful?" Aura's snapping turned brittle.

"Yes, ma'am!" Juniper squeaked, and Athena couldn't help but smile as she turned around. Some things never changed. The Blackquills seemed to be one of them. Athena couldn't even find it in herself to be hurt that Aura didn't want Athena near her. They seemed to have a rare understanding that Athena accepted. There were a lot of painful memories between them, and Athena couldn't blame Aura for wanting to avoid them. Athena could barely deal with them herself, at least some days.

But as she opened cabinets and started to look, Athena could let her mind completely give in to the task. She flipped through countless manila folders and files, and from the organization of them and the labeling in the same corner, each time, Athena knew her mother had filed these. She carefully handled them, like just touching the papers would cause them to rip, and it took much more time than it normally would have. Other than the buzzing of robotic movement, the room was relatively silent. Each time Juniper coughed and used her sunflower, it seemed punctuated and much more dramatic. Athena tried to pour all her concentration on the files, but as time passed, it became increasingly difficult.

"I think I found something," Juniper said suddenly. "Caden Barrow, right?"

Athena scrambled to her feet. Without thinking much about it, she ran over to where Juniper was kneeling. She ignored the table to the best of her ability, and looked at Juniper's hands.

Aura leaned over from next to Juniper to peek at the file, and then nodded. "Yeah, that looks like that's it. Let's give it to the detective, shall we?"

"Miss Aura..." Athena heard Clonco said. The robot looked quietly contemplative, as his head spun.

"Not now, Hunk of Junk," Aura said, and she took the folder from Juniper. "Tell me later."

Simon was waiting for the three of them, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, when they left the lab. "Ponco told me what you three were doing," he said. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes," Aura replied. "Where is the detective?"

For some reason, Simon took a little bit to reply. Athena noticed him scrutinizing her, starting at her feet and resting on her face, before turning to his sister. "He left. He found something outside the museum and wanted to get it analyzed."

"What is it?"

Simon shrugged. "He wouldn't say."

Athena knew instantly he was lying. She could hear it. His glance flicked to hers once before going back to his sister's. She understood the message.

"I'll give this to you, then." Aura handed the file to her brother. "This is Caden Barrow's information from when he was studying here. It's old, but..."

"It could be of some use to us," Simon finished for her. He opened the folder to the first page and skimmed it, before nodding to himself. He closed the folder and held it at his side.

"Thena?"

Athena stepped back to look at her friend.

"How much longer are you going to be?" Juniper turned her head towards the ground. "I need to go home soon."

Athena felt a surge of guilt. "I'm not sure," she said. "I-"

"Is there a problem?"

Simon had stepped closer to them, and Athena watched as Aura disappeared down the hallway, her role in the conversation finished. "No, not really," Athena said. "Juniper just needs to get going, and she's my ride. I'll take the bus up there tomorrow or something to get my car."

"I can drive you."

Athena started. "Are you sure? It's at least an hour away."

Simon shrugged. "It's of no consequence."

Athena studied him for a moment before turning to Juniper. "You can go, Junie. Thank you for everything."

Juniper hugged her. "Let me know if you need anything else, okay? Don't be a stranger."

Athena nodded. She could understand her friend's concern. Every time something happened with the Space Center, Athena disappeared from Juniper's life. But Athena couldn't bring herself to think much about that.

"Are you alright?" Simon asked quietly when Juniper turned the corner.

Athena nodded. "Why didn't you tell Aura the truth?"

Simon began to walk outside, gesturing for Athena to follow him. Athena could hear the steadiness of his breath, the calm of his heartbeat, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Simon was always good at holding his composure, and when he let it go, it was usually deliberate. Athena could count on one hand how many times he lost his cool, and it usually only lasted a couple of seconds.

She waited for him to reply as she took in the rest of the building. The long corridors, the sterile white...

When they walked outside, the sun was gone. Athena crossed her arms at the sudden chill, and she turned towards the Space Museum even though she wouldn't be able to see anything.

"We found something decisive," Simon said at last, and Athena noticed he was avoiding her question about his sister. She would let the matter go, for now.

"Pointing towards arson?"

Simon stopped at the base of the Space Museum, and the charred black wall almost brought more emotion than the robotics lab. Athena swallowed. The Space Center, and all who came with it, had already gone through so much. She let herself be grateful she sent Juniper home. The air was still thick with char and smoke, and Athena found it difficult to breathe.

Simon let out a single cough. She wasn't the only one. Otherwise, he was as stoic as always. "Do you know what we're dealing with here?"

Athena frowned, having forgotten she was looking for something. She bit her lip. The concrete the wing rested on was scorched, and the wall had a pillar of black going upwards. She didn't see anything that would point to arson.

"I would advise your olfactory senses for this matter," Simon said.

Athena smelled the air, and did so loudly. She could only smell layers of fire at first, smoke and charcoal and singed metal and concrete, but then something unmistakable hit her senses.

"Is that paint thinner?"

Simon nodded. "Precisely. We'll be treating this investigation as arson. Aura was correct, after all."

It wasn't good news. Athena swallowed. She was afraid to ask about Caden. She was afraid of a lot of things. Athena took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before opening them.

"I'm going to ask you again," Simon said softly. "Are you alright?"

Athena looked at him. "It takes a lot more than this to break me, Simon."

"I know." Simon turned from her before she could read his face. "Let me take you to your car."

Athena couldn't help but protest. "But Caden-"

"Mr. Burrow isn't in any shape to entertain guests," Simon said darkly, and she felt her stomach go cold. "There isn't anything to do right now."

"Will he be okay?" Athena pushed.

Simon sighed, and he slowed down enough for her to catch up with him. At his height, it took Athena two strides to match one of his. "That's in question at the moment."

Athena swallowed. She wondered how many more people would have to get hurt for the sake of the Space Center. They didn't say anything else until they reached Simon's car, a practical, unassuming vehicle that was of course, black. It was so... Simon. Athena couldn't help but smile.

"Is there something that amuses you?"

Athena saw him looking at her from across the top of the car. "No," she said. "It's nothing."

* * *

A lot of the car ride was spent in silence, and while it was nice at first, Athena started to feel uncomfortable. Simon never lacked in intensity, even before his incarceration, and that fact was especially apparent now. Athena rested her chin in her glove. He looked like he was thinking about something.

She didn't want to interrupt him. He spent seven years in prison, which was a long time to go without driving at all. Most of the trip was smooth, but she could still tell: when a truck came a little too close, Simon's grip tightened on the wheel. A hard bump would send him off to the side before he adjusted again. A year wasn't quite enough time to catch up on everything he had missed for so long, and through Athena's worries, she started to feel guilty again. She narrowed her eyes. She would make up for it. She would. No more "We're both busy" excuses.

"I didn't tell Aura because she's already in enough trouble," Simon said, out of nowhere.

Athena blinked. "Huh?"

"She's been released on probation, but the office and the police department are keeping a pretty close eye on her because of what she has done," he added. He kept his eyes on the road. "I don't want her getting involved yet, not when we don't have all our initial questions answered yet. You know how she can be. I don't have any wish to see her situation worsen."

Athena nodded. "I figured it was something like that," she said. "Don't worry. I won't say anything to her." Athena folded her arms. _It's not like she likes me that much anyway..._

"Athena, I don't think it's wise for you to get involved with this case."

Athena felt so taken aback that she was stunned silent for several moments. She stared at his profile, and she had to fight to not get angry. "What do you mean?"

"There is a lot going on here," Simon said with a low breath. "And I saw you in that room, Athena. I could tell being there hurt you."

Athena shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal when really, of course, it was. She didn't want anyone noticing her weaknesses, least of all this man. "I can handle it."

"It's not a question whether you can or can't handle it."

Athena felt her face soften, even though she still felt agitated and annoyed. She was grateful Widget didn't pipe up with some damaging remark, but it was probably because she thought a lot of things and Widget couldn't just pick one. She took a deep breath.

"Like you said, there is a lot going on here," Athena said, "and we don't have a lot of answers. Let's just hold off on this discussion until we know more, okay? Cross that bridge when we get there."

Simon concentrated on his driving, more than he needed to, and Athena knew that he saw right through her. A case would probably form out of this situation. Maybe even more than one. And Athena didn't believe for a nanosecond she wouldn't be involved.

But, to her surprise, Simon let it go. "As you wish."

Athena sighed. She could still hear the sentiment behind his words. _He knows it, too._ She wanted to tell him that she didn't need protecting anymore, that she could handle whatever happened next. She wanted to tell him that she would never, ever be able to ignore anything involving the Space Center. That she owed the place, his sister, and even him that much.

They both stared into the thickening woods, where Juniper lived. This discussion wasn't over, Athena knew, but like she said: they would cross that bridge when they got there.

* * *

TBC

 _This chapter was super difficult to write, probably because of all the things I introduced. No language translations this time, sorry!_

 _Writing Aura was a LOT more fun than I thought it would be, so I'm probably going to include her more in the story than originally planned. It was definitely a surprise, although a welcome one._

 _Until next time :)_


	4. Chapter 4

When Athena got home, a loud yawn erupted through her. She was so exhausted she could barely think straight.

It took an hour to drive back into town from Juniper's house, and then she promptly followed up with the hospital. Caden wasn't in good shape, as Simon said. The ICU was still struggling to stabilize him when Athena arrived. Multiple broken bones and a concussion were the least of his problems. A broken rib had punctured his lung, causing it to collapse, and they found hemorrhaging in his spleen. He was in bad, bad shape, and Athena still had the shudders from when she bullied a doctor for information.

The implications of arson weighed heavily on her as well. Athena didn't believe in coincidences. These two incidents didn't happen because of luck. Something else was in play here. She just wasn't sure of what. But for now...

Bed. Bed sounded fantastic.

She stumbled into her room, but before she could flop face first into her bed without even changing into pajamas, her phone buzzed in her pocket. It wasn't a number she had in her contacts.

"Athena Cykes speaking." She stifled a yawn in her sleeve.

"Jeez, Princess, you sound so formal," Aura drawled over the line. "And bored."

Athena blanched and sat down. The last thing she wanted to do now was talk to Simon's sister, but out of everyone in the day, Aura probably deserved her time the most. "What can I help you with, Aura?"

Aura gave a short laugh. "I can hear what you're saying behind that, you know. Does 'what the hell do you want?' sound about right?"

Athena rubbed her eyes. "I don't swear."

Aura's laughter was a lot more genuine this time around, and Athena's shoulders relaxed a fraction. "Nice deflection."

"Not everyone can sound like you, Aura," Athena said before she could think it through, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. That was rude. Flopping back on her bed, adjusting so her head was on the pillows, she added, "What can I help you with?"

"I want to know what you know," Aura said. "I want to know what's going on."

Athena swallowed. She thought for a few seconds before she decided on the truth, or at least a version of it.

"I'm sorry, but both Simon and Gumshoe asked me to keep what's going on with the fire on the down low," Athena said. "They don't have enough information to make a statement, anyway."

"I can tell it's-"

"Aura, Simon is concerned that if you know much more, it'll get to the point where you will possibly violate your probation," Athena continued. Simon would probably kill her for this, but she didn't see an easier way out of this conversation. "Quite frankly, I agree with him. You two have been separated long enough. Been through enough."

Aura was silent for a while. "He always insisted on acting like the older sibling."

Athena smiled. "He acts like that with everyone, you know that. I got a lecture from him, too." She surprised herself saying that, with this prickly woman who just a year ago indicted her for the murder of her mother. But these cases had changed everyone drastically, never for the better, and only with their resolution, did they start to heal. She had to at least give Aura half a chance.

"About how much you can handle, blah blah blah?" Athena could practically hear Aura roll her eyes. "Figures."

Athena stilled. She started to play with the end of her ponytail, twisting it around her finger. "He talks about me?" she asked quietly.

"Of course he does."

Athena felt pricks in the side of her throat and stomach. "How much-"

"What?!" Aura randomly shouted, and it took Athena a minute to realize it wasn't pointed at her. "Could you just wait a minute? It won't kill you. Sorry," she added to Athena, even though it didn't sound genuine. "My coworkers are quite certain the world will come to an end if I don't help them now. Can you at least tell me about Caden?"

Athena wanted to ask more about Simon, but she let the matter drop. "It's really not good, Aura. He's in bad shape."

"Is he going to live?"

"He's very touch and go right now. One of his lungs and his spleen will need additional surgery, and he's still in the ICU. They're having trouble stabilizing him." Athena closed her eyes. She was glad that the doctors didn't let her see him. She was already having trouble not seeing him in her imagination. "They're not allowing visitors until he progresses."

Athena heard silence over the phone for so long that for a minute, she thought Aura hung up. "Can you let me know about him, at least? If you hear anything?"

"Sure." Despite Aura's abrasive tone, Athena didn't even have to think about it.

"I'm not even sure he's going to want to wake up."

Athena started, not positive of what she heard at first. Aura's voice was so quiet that only Athena's ears would be able to pick it up, and that's how she knew Aura didn't mean for her to hear it. Athena clenched her fists.

"Anyway, I've got stuff to do," Aura said. "Bye."

The line went dead before Athena could even reply.

She tossed her phone on the carpet below, without thinking. Athena closed her eyes for a long moment, but what Aura said kept repeating in her head like a mantra.

 _I'm not even sure he's going to want to wake up._

It sounded awful at the first layer, but then Athena thought of the other three people that were in the car with him. All dead. Athena felt the beginnings of a headache creeping up in her temples. She turned on her side and grabbed onto a pillow, trying to breathe deeply. Tears pricked at her eyes.

She fell asleep before she could let them out.

When Athena woke up, it was dark outside.

She rolled over, feeling stiff and heavy, and checked her phone. It was only a little past eight. She fell asleep when it was still light outside, but she thought she would sleep longer. She rolled out of bed and changed into new clothes; she would also have to do laundry when she got back.

 _Where am I even going?_

Athena stopped for a second. She was moving on autopilot, assuming she had to somewhere when she didn't even know where yet. The side of her mouth went up. The last time something like this happened was the day after Clay's death, because she didn't know where Apollo lived. She had been still in a haze after her episode in the Space Museum, and she had run several blocks before realizing she was lost. She had to call her boss for Apollo's address.

"I have to do something," she muttered to herself.

She found herself in the kitchen, pulling down spices from her cabinets and ingredients from her fridge. She still had raw chicken, which was lucky, and Juniper loved to throw spices and dried herbs at her, telling her their healing properties. Athena never remembered the finer details, but she did know the ones she found tasty.

She started making the stir-fry Athena helped Juniper with before they saw the news.

She didn't have all the vegetables that Juniper had, and the ingredients she had certainly weren't as fresh. But the busywork made her relax, and think things through rationally.

Athena would probably visit the Space Center once her nerves weren't on a live wire. There was still a lot of information she could gather there, especially when it was likely she could count on Aura's cooperation, even if it was reluctant. She flipped the vegetables simmering in their pan with a spatula, and oil splashed up and hit one of her fingers.

"Ow!" She put it in her mouth by instinct, and she ran to the sink to run it under cold water. It occurred to her that it matched her stove: too clean, and gathering dust. Athena never took the time to call this place home.

She wondered if Simon lived the same way.

Athena bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth, and she almost didn't hear the oil crackling. She turned down the heat and turned the chicken in a separate pan, waiting for it to be done. It was too quiet in this apartment, by herself. She turned on a few lights, just so she could see the small TV and couch, in a living room too big for them.

She dumped the vegetables on top of the chicken and realized she had made too much food. She laughed to herself. She learned that someone from her past was in danger, and that her old home was in dire straits, and how did Athena respond? She cooked enough food to feed an army.

Oh well, at least it was useful...

"Wait," she said. She stood still for a moment, and then Widget flashed green. She clapped her hands and squealed. "I'm a genius!"

Maybe it was a good thing she lived alone.

* * *

After calling and pestering Aura, who had nearly hung up on Athena before giving her what she wanted, Athena found herself on her bike. She balanced a Tupperware of stir-fry on the left handlebar while Widget told her the directions as she reached each street, each intersection. Simon didn't live all that far from her, as it turned out, like ten minutes. Athena wondered for a moment if that was deliberate, and then decided against it. Nah. It was a small world after all, and all that.

Her nerves didn't catch up with her until she parked her bike near his mailbox and walked up to his front door. It was past nine at this point. Was he a morning person? Already in bed? Athena gripped the food she held tighter than needed.  
She gave the door three sharp raps before she could enter the world of toxic thoughts. She was an idiot. This was going to be awkward. Athena adjusted her load under her arm and tried for the most casual stance she could manage.

Judging from Simon's look when he opened the door, she failed miserably.

Athena tried for a bright smile anyway. "Hi. I got your address from Aura."

"I'll have to have a discussion with her on that," he drawled. "Giving out where I live to random people. Not very becoming."

"I'm not 'random people, am I?"

Simon's expression didn't change.

Athena flushed despite herself, and decided to shoot straight with him. It had a better chance of working with him, at least when they were up against each other in the courtroom. "Look, I'm here because it's been a rough day," she said. "And I went a little crazy making food because it was a good distraction, and I realized I've never seen your place." She gave what she carried under her arm a glance. "And I wanted to say thank you. That's about it."

Athena felt a bit out of breath, but her relief was almost palpable when Simon's face softened a little. "Very well," he said. "Come in. It's a little empty. Forgive how it looks."

"I'm sure it's fine," Athena said, stepping inside.

But she found that as soon as she made her way into the living room, Simon was right. It was empty: a single couch, a small one, sat in the middle of the living room with a little side table, and that was it. He didn't have a TV or a coffee table or anything. She knew it wasn't money. He had a lot saved up from when he started prosecuting from prison.

"It looks exactly like my place," Athena said without thinking.

"Oh?"

Athena ran her hands down her hair. She didn't mean to say that out loud. "Well, you know. Life doesn't slow down. Even if you want it to."

She could feel Simon stare at her, and she pointedly kept looking around the empty room, even though there wasn't much to look at. "Sorry, I'm sure that made no sense."

"No," Simon said, his voice low. "It makes perfect sense."

Athena turned towards him. He was looking away from her now, like he wanted to avoid the subject. "I'll put this in your kitchen," Athena said. "Like I said, thanks for showing up to my trial and helping out today. It means a lot."

It sounded so businesslike. Whenever Apollo or Mr. Wright sounded like that, she usually laughed at them.

"Don't mention it."

Athena placed the food down on the counter. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"I can hear it when you lie."

The buzzing of discord was very faint, but Athena could hear it. She heard it the last several times she spoke with him, on various subjects. She couldn't stop herself from worrying about it. It wasn't her way.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Simon's lips, but he didn't answer right away. He sat down on his couch, deep in thought. Athena pulled at her hair before she went around the couch and stood at its arm.

"You're not settling in well, are you?"

"I'm settling in well enough," he said, but she still heard the faint buzz. He sighed, as if he knew what she heard, and added, "It's just strange sometimes."

"Sure," Athena said. "You were locked away from the world for seven years. I bet it feels like you aren't even supposed to be here."

She hadn't seen anything close to surprise on Simon's face since she was eleven, when he opened the door and found her in between her mother's body and the bloody katana, and it gave her chills to see it now. "How did you-?"

Athena looked at her feet. She hadn't left her boots at the door, and she went to do that. "Analytical psychology," she said.

Simon breathed out a laugh. "Analytical psychology," he echoed. "It must run in the blood."

Athena frowned. "That doesn't make sense," she said. She had to sit down to pull off her boots. The hard bike ride left her leggings twisted and her socks bunched up in places. She found Simon's hawkish eyes from across the room. "Psychology is a field of study, nothing more."

"Perhaps, but nonetheless..." Simon leaned on the side of the couch. It reminded her of the courtroom, when he leaned on the bench with his back facing her. She used to think it was a sign of contempt. "You should have seen your mother when she talked about it."

"What do you mean?"

He adjusted in his seat, saying nothing else. Athena bit her lip, and then headed to the kitchen. "Simon, I hope you're not avoiding the topic for my sake."

Still, nothing. She sighed and made a plate for him, and warmed it up in the microwave. She sighed, and she couldn't stand the silence. "You're lucky, in a way."

She could hear Simon start. "How so?"

Athena took the plate and placed it on the table in front of him. "You knew the truth about my mother all along," she said softly. "More than me."

Simon stiffened so much that Athena didn't want to sit next to him, like she originally wanted. She froze for a moment, racking her brain for what she did wrong. Her back ached from her hard bicycle ride.

"Only a fool would think your mother was anything but kind, gentle and far too intelligent for her own good," Simon replied at last, and his voice sounded tight. "You never had to reach far to find her."

Athena's hand flew to Widget, a subconscious act that she only did when she was anxious. Widget didn't light up, because she didn't know what to say. She felt Simon's eyes land on Widget, and then her face. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed, and she realized Simon was angry.

"What are you saying?" Athena asked at last. It was something she dreaded asking him, anything regarding her mother. She realized that that was probably why she avoided Simon for the past year, even without meaning to. Metis Cykes was the elephant in the room, and it would remain so for a long time. Maybe as long as Athena was still alive.

Simon let out a sigh. His face softened, but his eyes still reminded Athena of flint striking and making sparks. "You still have your mother's legacy, and you should have never thought otherwise. You always will."

Athena clenched her fists. "How was I supposed to know?" she whispered, but she knew he was right. If she had been a better person, a stronger one... she knew Aura had a reason for believing Athena was the killer. Her resentment was misplaced, but visible. "I was a child."

Simon let out a short, dry laugh. "Yes." He rested his forehead in his palm. She had never seen this level of emotional exposure from him, as small it was. "You were a child."

The words weighed heavily on Athena, and she couldn't figure out why.

A silence settled on them. Simon looked out his window, but since the blinds were pulled down and shut, Athena knew he was avoiding looking at her. Suddenly, she began to remember the trial that set them both free.

She couldn't think of much without it bringing her to tears. Simon insisting he was the perpetrator, that horrible time when she truly believed she killed her own mother, testifying to that effect. But what caught her attention now was the voiceprint analysis of the Phantom, the one her mother drew up for Simon.

 _"Subject determined to have unique psychological makeup, with almost no emotional fluctuation."_

Simon had recited it without the chart in hand when he took Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth's stand behind the prosecutor's bench. Athena closed her eyes.

 _"Take good care of it. It's all I have left of my mentor."_

Then the Phantom had snatched it from her grip, and destroyed it.

Athena spun towards Simon, her abrupt movement taking him aback. "Move over."

"What are you doing?"

"I have something to show you."

Simon looked perplexed, but he moved to the side of the couch. Athena sat down next to him, careful not to touch him. She touched the buttons on either side of Widget and pulled up the screen, keying in her password.

"Athena, what is this?"

"Give me a sec. I think you might like it."

Athena pressed a few more buttons on the touch screen and let it load, the numbers climbing to a hundred on an exponential speed. The bright blue screen glared harsher in the dark of Simon's apartment than in the well lit courtroom. Code started to scrawl up the sides.

She pointed at it. "From what I understand, this is mostly Aura's work. Mom had to tell her what the code should do, but Aura is what makes Widget run for the most part."

Simon's face remained neutral.

Athena wasn't discouraged. She opened up the screen where she input emotions in Widget, as well as information. "This is where I input the emotions and the sound wave frequency I hear. In other words, how strong or weak each emotion is." The screen came up with the four basic emotions, as well as a bar she could raise or lower. She felt Simon shift next to her, and she could have sworn she heard his heartbeat speed up a little.

Athena turned her head, and his raptor gaze seemed fixated on Widget. She couldn't read his face, but his heartbeat was unmistakable. She started to say something, but Simon beat her to it.

"What is that on the side?" He pointed at the side bar, and Athena grew warm. She heard so much in his voice: grief, longing, sadness, but also... nostalgia, joy. Athena renewed her energy in explaining it to him.

"Oh, that's where I put my notes. My mom knew how I explain and interpret things, based on her studies with my headphones and all that, so these notes translate into images. It also draws from the evidence."

"Your mother..." Simon's voice trailed off, but Athena could hear the wonder behind his voice. Sudden tears threatened to well up in her eyes, but she fought them away.

"And see, look, Mom and Aura did this together. You know how Widget can pretty much read my mind? It analyzes my words as well as the feelings it feels from me..."

Athena spent hours showing him the different functions, and Simon didn't get up once. His eyes were wider than she'd ever seen them, considering they usually narrowed in the courtroom. As Athena browsed through the different screens, something else occurred to her. Simon seemed determined to protect her from this case, even though Athena was determined to not let him. But Aura seemed to jump on board, going from hate to loyalty.

 _He talks about me?_

She felt pricks in her skin. It probably meant nothing.

"And what's that?"

"Oh, that's how Widget stores information..."

They spent most of the night huddled on the couch, pouring over Widget. Athena noticed his shoulders relaxing fraction by fraction, and when she finally went home, the waves of emotion he emitted made everything worth it.

* * *

TBC

 _I am so sorry for the wait and the shorter chapter. I had a lot of health problems, and this chapter gave me a lot of issues for some reason. It was hard to write. A lot of things to set up, I guess!_


	5. Chapter 5

Athena's first stop in the morning was the Chief Prosecutor's office.

The groggy air notched her eyelids like sandpaper. She turned on Widget to check the time; it read 7:15. The last time Athena woke up that early was for last minute studying on her Psychology final in Europe, and she felt as awful as she did back then. Her skin stretched uncomfortably, and she barely managed to make her hair look presentable. But nightmares wouldn't let her sleep, and she didn't have the courage to face the images of dying people again.

Athena rapped on the door before she could think about it, think about why she got up at this hour in the first place. As soothing as her visit to Simon's place was, she still couldn't sleep much when she got back. All of the day's stresses came rushing back, and she wished she could just stay there.

It was how she came up with this plan in the first place.

"The door's open," she heard Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth call. She swallowed, and then took a few steps inside.

She had only visited his office a couple of times before, but it never got less dazzling. The lush red carpets, the signed flowers, his fancy suit, his award, even the Steel Samurai... Athena's head spun. Her mouth came slightly open, and she looked around.

"I'm over here, Ms. Cykes."

She flushed, and her eyes finally landed on the Chief Prosecutor, sitting in his chair with an amused smile on his face.

"Sorry, Chief Prosecutor-"

"Mr. Edgeworth, please." The man stood up and took easy, confident strides around his desk and stretched out his arm. "The official title becomes a bit of a mouthful, don't you think?"

Athena's shoulders relaxed a fraction, and she let out a small smile. "Okay." She shook his arm, and was taken aback by how his fingers gripped hers. A solid handshake, just like Simon's. She wondered if it was a prosecutor thing.

He let go of her hand and went back to his desk. "You're here early."

"So are you," she pointed out.

"I have to start this early, or I would never get anything done," he replied in a wry voice, gesturing to neatly bundled papers on his desk. "You, on the other hand... well, I'm told you are chronically late."

Athena wondered if "cherry red" could become a permanent state.

"We didn't have an appointment," she mumbled. "For all you know, I am late."

"...that didn't make much sense, but okay." Mr. Edgeworth folded his hands under his chin. "Let's cut to the chase. I'm busy, and I'm sure you have places to be as well."

 _Well, actually, I don't, but thanks for being painfully polite, I guess._

"Too polite!" Widget squawked.

Mr. Edgeworth frowned, and opened his mouth to speak. She clutched Widget in her hand, and started talking before he could.

"I wanted to make a request, Mr. Edgeworth."

His eyes narrowed.

"A defense attorney making a request of the Chief Prosecutor," he murmured. "That's highly irregular."

Athena nodded. "Yes, I know. But I would appreciate it."

"Well?"

She played with her hair and took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask if you could make Simon Blackquill the prosecuting attorney for my trials. For the foreseeable future."

It sounded more ridiculous out loud than it did in her head.

"Why?" Mr. Edgeworth's tone was mild, but Athena could hear the disbelief in the undercurrents of his tone. She couldn't say that she blamed him.

"A few reasons." Athena let out a loud exhale. "The first is that I don't believe that Gaspen Payne is using legitimate means to win his trials."

Mr. Edgeworth's expression didn't even flicker. "Quite the accusation."

The back of Athena's neck felt warm, now. What was that, the fifth time in this conversation? "I'm sorry, sir-"

"Although not an unfounded one," Mr. Edgeworth finished, giving her a wry smile. "We just completed the investigation, and I don't think I have to tell you we weren't happy with the results. The trial he just lost against you will be his last, at least in this country.

"Oh."

"I thought you would sound happier about that."

"I am; it's just..." Athena trailed off. She did feel better about no longer going up against Payne, but it also destroyed her only valid reason for her request.

"Is there another reason you want Blackquill to proceed your trials?" Mr. Edgeworth's voice turned unmistakably gentle, and Athena couldn't help herself: she flinched. Did he already know what she wanted?

She couldn't exactly tell him " _because for some reason, that particular prosecutor makes it so I don't freak out during a trial_." That would go over like a lead balloon.

"No." Athena's voice broke into a whisper.

Mr. Edgeworth regarded her with a long silence, and Athena resisted the urge to fidget. This was a stupid plan, she thought furiously to herself, so stupid. She turned her head to look at the door, wondering how fast she could make her exit, when she heard Mr. Edgeworth get to his feet

"You should probably know that the Prosecutor's Office has been basically crippled at this point," he told her. "After we weeded out the corruption the dark age of the law wrought, our prosecutors are incredibly limited."

Athena didn't know what to say.

"In fact, we're in such bad shape that other than a foreigner who pops in now and then, Prosecutor Blackquill is the only one left." Mr. Edgeworth shrugged his coat on from the hook near his desk. Athena didn't even notice he didn't have it on already. "So your request is granted anyway, even if I can't make sense of your logic."

Athena's eyes widened and her mouth came slightly open, and it took a sharp reminder from Widget for her to close it.

Mr. Edgeworth chuckled. "Have a nice day, Ms. Cykes."

If she had an embarrassment quota for the year, that 15-minute encounter probably more than covered it.

* * *

"Who's side are you on?"

Athena rested her hand on the bench, her eyes narrowed at the witness. Simon's pupils were blown inwards, and with the two of them together, it would have stopped the average man dead in his tracks.

This witness wasn't particularly bright.

"I asked if Cykes-dono's claim about you maintaining the water bridge was correct." Simon put a rubber band in each of his syllables, as if he thought he were talking to an imbecile. Knowing Simon, that was probably exactly what he thought. "Considering it collapsed while the victim was still on it, I would say it's an important point of contention."

"What does it matter?" Athena's ears rang, and she resisted the urge to wince. The witness's voice ripped with discord, that awful static from audacious lies. "The victim was stabbed to death."

"It could mean a number of things," Simon said calmly, and Athena found herself wondering if she could ever sound that put-together, that calm. "For the time being, please answer the question."

The witness wasn't very original either. His face went red, and he sent his fingers roughly into his hair as if he were going to rip it out. He did it a lot under duress.

"You're the prosecutor," he ground out. "Who's side are you on?"

Simon sighed, and Athena thought she saw weariness cross his face before it smoothed over into that same, blank expression. "I don't take sides."

"It's true," the judge said. "Prosecutor Blackquill has never been one to side with a witness just because he works with his initial statement."

"But-"

"He is sideless," Athena quipped helpfully, and she was met by silence.

The witness, the judge, and Simon stared at her for a moment. None of them responded, but she thought she saw Simon's mouth quirk into a smile before looking away from her.

"Enough stalling. Now..."

Athena sighed with relief when the whole affair was over. She let the client thank her in the same enthusiastic manner before walking out with him into the sun, which felt odd after so much rain. She closed her eyes and tipped her face to the sky, and the breeze fell through her fingertips.

"Well, that was a simple one."

She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. She saw Simon approach her on the sidewalk. She turned back towards the road, watching the cars go by, because she didn't want Simon to see her wry smile. "Those are the ones I've been getting lately."

He stopped next to her. "Would it be awful if I said I'm glad of it?"

She barely managed to hide her flinch. "Yes."

"You need the practice."

Athena started playing with her earring as she looked at the courthouse lawn, the flag strung high on its pole. Anywhere but at him. She would never, ever admit she was glad he was there in the courtroom today. She could feel him staring at her, but they said nothing for a long time.

But Athena hated the silence. She could hear it too well. Finally, she looked over at him, and their closeness revealed something to her.

"You look tired."

Simon snorted. "That is my permanent state of being."

"No. More than usual." Athena didn't know how to describe it. Of course Simon looked tired. The dark shadows under his eyes and pale skin might as well have been scars from seven years in desolation. But his eyes were duller, his cheekbones gaunt. After a moment's hesitation, she put her hand on his shoulder.

He let it happen for just a moment before shrugging it off. "Your worry is unnecessary. I just have a lot of cases, that's all."

"I heard you're short-staffed." The words were out before Athena could censor them.

"Where did you hear of that?" Simon stared at her for a moment, and then sighed. "I suppose it doesn't matter. Yes, we are. I'm completely swamped, and I can assure you a lot of these cases are more difficult than yours."

Athena didn't hear any resentment or scathing criticism in his tone. She started to realize his darker humor, the barbed comments, were here to stay. "You didn't have to keep me company yesterday," she said, ignoring him. "If you're so busy..."

"As we just discovered," Simon said dryly, turning away from her, "this case was an easy one. It was no problem."

"Then why do you look worse than usual?"

Simon let out a bark of surprised laughter. Athena couldn't blame him; she even surprised herself with her comment, and she rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry..."

He shook his head. "I just couldn't fall asleep." He didn't turn to look at her. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Athena swallowed for a moment. She started to walk away from him, and she heard footsteps implying he was doing the same thing.

"Simon," she called as she reached her bike.

"What?"

"I already told you once before." Athena put on her helmet, and she looked after him. Maybe he was rubbing off on her. "I can tell when you're lying to me."

* * *

Athena tried to open and close the door to the office quietly, but it didn't matter much.

"She returns!" Trucy spread her arms wide, in a swooping manner fitting for a magician. Her hands faltered at the expression on Athena's face, and her smile dimmed. "Triumphant?"

Athena gave her a small smile. "Yup. Triumphant."

"Yay!" Trucy flew towards her in a hug, and Athena hugged her back. Both Apollo and Phoenix sat at their respective desks, and looked over at her with big smiles.

"I thought you would be beside yourself," Apollo said as he stood up, walking towards the two of them. "Aren't you happy?"

Athena let a grin cross her face. "I am, I promise! I'm just super tired. I'll freak out about it tomorrow."

Phoenix stood up as well. His eyes narrowed for a moment after looking at Athena's face, but he relaxed so quickly Athena wondered if she was imagining things.

"Well, congratulations. Day 1!"

Athena let go of Trucy and her smile grew wider. "Yup! I think I'm getting the hang of it."

"Who was the prosecutor?" Apollo asked.

"Si – Prosecutor Blackquill. I heard from Mr. Edgeworth that they're pretty short-staffed."

Phoenix tilted his head to the side, and his eyes looked far away. "That's what I hear, yes. I'm afraid those frown lines are now permanent on our dear chief prosecutor."

Apollo grinned. "Not a huge loss."

Athena let them joke and goof around while she checked her phone. Nothing. She felt herself deflate a little. Caden Barrow had been lurking in the back of her mind, even during the trial, and no news wasn't good news with injuries as serious as his. Would they even notify her?

Even more than Caden, she kept seeing his dead friends, even though she didn't have access to photographs. Lily Jacobs, dead from hitting her temple on the passenger side door. Cerebral hemorrhage was the official autopsy cause of death. Terrence Smith didn't have his seatbelt on, and he flew out of the back window. Blunt force trauma. Sterling Harp's whipped forward so fast that it snapped his spine. Her nightmares wouldn't let those images go. She didn't know these people, and she thought that she had seen enough dead bodies to be used to this kind of thing by now, but what she couldn't stand is that if – when – Caden woke up, he would have to face it.

"Athena, are you sure you're okay?" Trucy said.

Her response was automatic. "Yes, of course."

She realized her mistake the moment she finished speaking. Both Phoenix and Apollo's eyes narrowed at the same time, in a sync that would have been scary if Athena didn't know what both men were capable of. She knew Phoenix saw red locks, Apollo the nervous twitch. She looked side to side, as if there was an escape route other than the front door.

Athena opened her mouth. "Um..."

Her phone went off in her hand, making everyone in the office jump. Athena scrambled to turn it on, and she turned away from them.

"Hello?"

"I am going to regret this." Simon's voice was a combination of a sigh and a groan. "Are you free to come to the hospital?"

"There's news?"

"Yes."

Athena felt her heart leap. "I'll be right there."

"Athena, don't raise your hopes too high." He hung up the phone before she could question him It didn't matter. She dropped her phone into her purse.

"Athena?" Both Apollo and Phoenix stood next to each other. Apollo had his arms crossed, and Phoenix looked far too serious. If it were any other situation, Athena knew she would get the grilling of her life. But she didn't have time for that at the moment.

She turned around and smiled. "I know, and I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain right now. I'll fill you in on everything tomorrow, okay? I promise."

She didn't let them answer. Athena flew out of the office, running towards her bike. The hospital was about half an hour away. She would have to try to make it there in twenty-five.

* * *

She rushed into the lobby of the hospital. The clean, sterile tiles and the dull light alarmed her, but she managed to push down her anxiety. She concentrated on the plants for a moment, which were only near the door, and then found Simon standing near the chairs lined neatly by the red stone wall. When he turned towards her, his lip curled.

"You came," he said, sighing.

"Did you expect anything else?" Athena kept her voice light and cheerful, like it was any other day. Her heart pounded a rhythm against her chest, and she wondered if Simon could hear it. "Which room?"

"Follow me."

Athena had to break into a slight jog to keep up with Simon's long strides, but she didn't complain. "They stabilized him?"

"Yes, and he gained consciousness. I do not think we will be able to receive much information from him, but it's certainly worth a try."

"I'm more concerned about his well-being, but okay." Athena sounded more terse than she meant to be.

Simon sighed. "This is a serious matter, Athena. Three people are dead. Someone attempted arson on the Space Center at roughly the same time."

Athena stilled a little, and she fell behind him. "I know," she whispered.

Simon slowed down his pace, something Athena didn't expect from him. He was very close, and Athena could hear his heartbeat, his breathing. Her own breath hitched for a moment. She could twitch one finger and touch his hand, if she wanted. She took a deep breath, and looked at him.

"If you're going to be involved here, you need to stay focused." Simon's eyes seemed to be searching her face. "Can you do that?"

Athena looked down at the ground for just a moment, and then looked straight into his gaze. "Emotions are my specialty, Simon," she said. "I can be concerned for Caden and investigate the cases as well." She gestured for him to walk.

He led her to the room Caden occupied, which was hidden by a curtain from the public eye. He stopped by the door, and looked at her again. She expected him to say something else, but he didn't. Athena frowned, and wondered why he dropped this particular subject as fast as he brought it up. She thought about her conversation with Aura, and a thought occurred to her.

"If you're concerned about me, I appreciate it," she said. "But I promise, I'm fine. If that changes, I'll let you know."

Simon's face didn't change. "No, I don't think you will," he murmured, but he opened the door anyway.

She didn't have time to respond to him. Her attention was Caden's the moment she could see him.

" _Mein Gott_ ," she breathed.

Nothing alarmed Athena so much as the tubes flowing in and out of him like telephone wires, the clicking machine with neon green, the IV inserted in his arm. It didn't look human. It didn't look alive, and Athena forgot her senses for a moment. She took in the bruised eyes, the bandaged skull, the hospital gown and blankets. Only the beeping kept her grounded in the present moment.

Dark blue eyes, much darker than her own, turned in her direction. They looked familiar. It was him, alright. Her memories were hazy, like all of Athena's memories before she turned eleven years old, but they were there.

"Caden?" she whispered.

He let out a single cough and winced, clutching the ribs on his left side. "I... don't I know you? I think..."

"Don't put too much strain on yourself." Simon's voice came as a reassurance to her, as it always did in moments like these. "Do you know what happened?"

"Yes." He turned his head so his face pointed back towards the ceiling, and he closed his eyes. "I wrecked the car. The others..."

Pain crossed his face, physical and emotional. His eyes crunched shut, and his fists tightened.

"Simon," Athena whispered.

He ignored her. "I do apologize for your loss, but we do have some questions, if you can spare the time."

Athena held back a wince. Even now, with the dark humor; it couldn't have been intentional. Did it look like Caden could go anywhere in the first place?

"If it's okay with you," Athena corrected, giving Simon a pointed glance.

"Yeah." Caden's voice sounded far away now, in contrast to before. She heard the hopes in his voice dashed. She knew this phenomenon of the sheer strength in denial. It was like his friends were still alive in each moment their deaths weren't mentioned Athena started recognizing more in his face: the blunt jaw, gaunt cheekbones, pale skin, though not as pale as Simon's. "Sure. Whatever."

"Do you remember anything before you lost control of the car?"

"Nope, not a thing."

Athena sighed. She knew this wasn't the time. How could he be expected to remember? Simon remained silent. It took a moment before she realized it wasn't one of these silences where he had nothing to say, where he was letting her pick up the pace in their conversation in her own time.

This was a charged, manipulative silence.

His power of suggestion technique had a lot of power in his words, as he twisted a target's motivations, insecurities, and thoughts against them. But it had just as much power in his silence. Simon could have a person spilling his life secrets just by staring at them, convincing the person he knew everything already.

Athena opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted.

"Okay, okay," he muttered. "We left a gathering at around ten. A friend of mine just moved. It was a housewarming gig. It's at the base of that hill near the Space Center. I got on the road, and that's about all I can remember."

Athena's ears buzzed.

"Were you at all inebriated at the time?" she asked sharply, even though she knew the answer from his reports.

"No." He gave her an askance look. He probably didn't expect her to speak up. "Not my style. My friends were, though."

"They didn't buckle up, did they?" Athena didn't know where she was going with this line of questioning, but she rarely did when chasing discord.

Caden winced, and his jaw tightened. "Probably not." He gave a cough, and his upper body ran through a spasm of pain. Athena wanted to stop her questioning, but her instincts were screaming at her. "They didn't have a lick of sense when drinking. Well, except for..." He trailed off into another cough.

"So the three people who were with you had all been drinking," she muttered, glancing at Simon. "That matches the report, right?"

Simon nodded. "Correct."

"Four."

They turned towards Caden, who now had his eyes open and a frown had crossed his chapped lips.

"Pardon?" Simon asked.

"I had four people in the car."

The fact slammed into them like thunder. Even Simon looked taken aback. Athena scrambled through her mind, and opened Widget.

"Lily Jacobs, age 29." Athena scrolled to the next page. "Terrence Smith, age 33. Sterling Harp, age 36. All deceased, consistent with injuries from the car wreck." She was only dimly aware of the growing frenzy in her voice. "Those are who we found."

Caden tried to sit up, and the machines squeaked in protest. He let out a dull cry as the IV's yanked at his skin, and his injuries jostled.

Simon put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't move."

"But Aly..."

"That's her name?" Athena scribbled a note in Widget.

"Alexandra Ford. She was in the middle seat in the back." Caden's eyes took on a wild brightness. "Where- where did she-"

"We need you to stay calm," Athena said.

"No. No, I can't-"

It hurt to listen to him. She was sure his emotions spiraled with each passing second, but a therapy session wouldn't work in his condition. She reached and pressed the button on his hospital bed. "A nurse is coming," she told him.

"No! I need to-"

A nurse broke in through the door as his heart rate escalated on the machine, jumping from 65, and then to 70.

"What did you do?" she hissed.

Athena's eyes stretched so wide they strung. "Nothing!"

"Out! Now!"

Simon took her by the arm, and she required no more encouragement to follow him out. Athena turned to speak to him, but he already had his phone by his ear.

"We need to widen the perimeter on that scene..."

Athena waited as he spoke with the person on the other end, although it pained her to do so. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, bouncing a little.

"I want Skye-dono out there as soon as possible," he said after listening for a bit. "If anyone can find a missing person, it would be her. Athena and I will be there in a short while." He listened again, and then grunted affirmation. "You have my gratitude." He hung up.

"Can we go yet?"

"Not quite." Simon put his phone back in his pocket. "We do not want to get in Skye-dono's way. We'll head out as soon as we hear news."

"Well, we can't just stay here." Athena looked towards Caden's room. "The nurse probably had to sedate him."

"We'll go outside," he said, taking her by the arm again. It had a gentleness that Athena didn't associate with Simon for the past few days, and she didn't resist it. "I have a few questions for you."

Athena let him lead her outside, and sit next to her on a wooden bench. It overlooked the rock pathway to the hospital, the stone canopy she had to cross under to get inside.

"Why now?"

"I'm not overly fond of what I've heard about these cases so far," Simon said. "And I have to say I like what I just heard even less."

Athena shrugged, not looking at him. "Fair enough."

"I suppose we can start with the obvious," he said. "How do you know him?"

"Didn't Aura say anything about that?"

"I would like to hear your version."

Athena stared at his profile. Well. That was a first.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Athena said. "I don't know how much help I'll be. I must have been... what, six, seven?"

"He was an intern?"

"Yes." Athena put her hands on her temples, trying to remember. "He studied in the local college, I know that. He studied more under Aura than my mother, I think. He was more interested in the mechanics of robotics than their psychology."

Simon leaned back on the bench, holding himself up by gripping the back. "Aura must have just started working there. She only introduced me to Cykes-dono three or four years after she started at the Space Center."

Athena realized he was trying to probe her memory, and she gave him a quick smile to show she appreciated it. "Yes, that's right. It was kinda Aura's first real test there. Testing how well she could work as a leader."

Simon let out a soft snort. "A fair thing to test Aura with," he murmured. "She can be... more than difficult."

Athena laughed despite herself, and then a memory struck her. "He left very suddenly," she said. "A no call, no show, they called it, but it was more than that. My mother said that it was like he fell off the face of the earth. No one could find him for weeks."

Simon straightened. "Do you know anything about where he disappeared?"

Athena shook her head. "No, I'm afraid I don't. I haven't seen him since... well, not until now. It all feels rather surreal."

Simon was quiet for a good while, and Athena let it happen. She became rather good at reading his silences in the past couple of days. He thought for a good long while.

"Was Caden kind to you?"

Athena's eyes flickered, and she frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question, Athena."

Athena sat back, mirroring him. "I guess so. I mean, he didn't pay attention to me. He was a normal coworker, I guess. Always polite, never mean or calloused, but he didn't try to interact with me or anything." She paused for a moment, thinking, and then she nudged him with her elbow and grinned at him. "Not like you."

Simon looked surprised for a moment, and then smiled back at her. He looked back at the parking lot, and Athena wrapped her arms around herself. She wanted to be there, on scene. She had never been a friend with suspense.

Simon's phone let out a chirp, and Athena made room for him so he could wrestle the phone out of his pocket. "Prosecutor Blackquill speaking."

He let Ema talk for a while. Athena knew her voice over the phone from being so close, but she couldn't make out the words. Athena squeezed the bench with her fingers until the knuckles turned white, and her jaw tensed. For Ema to talk so long, she knew it couldn't be anything good.

"Thank you," he said at last. "I will be there shortly."

"Simon?"

He sighed, and then rested his forehead in his hand. Athena turned towards him.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Athena kept her voice quiet. "The fourth passenger."

Simon straightened, and turned towards her as well. "They found a body near the river about five miles away from the accident, closer to the Space Center. Skye-dono's findings say that the time of death roughly matches the time of the accident."

"And the identification?"

"They found a driver's license belonging to Alexandra Ford in a purse located near the body. The body looks like the picture. They're going to match dental records just in case, but Skye-dono is pretty sure that we found who we were looking for."

Simon's words were measured. Athena wanted to reach out, touch his hand or something, but something held her back.

"You heard discord in Caden's voice, didn't you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Athena ran her fingers through her hair. "Simon, just tell me what's happening."

She knew his thoughts. It was the same thing as the past few days. He had this stupid impulse to protect her, for some reason, and it was getting annoying. Athena looked dead into the raptor gaze, her own eyes narrowed, and she let go of her hair.

"What else?" she said.

He let out a loud huff of air. "The cause of death is a gunshot wound in her head from a small caliber weapon, Athena."

Athena's breath caught. Her heart stuttered, and her fingers went up to her earring. " _Nein_ ," she whispered, and this time, her hand went out. She clutched the cuff of Simon's sleeve, and he let her. His eyes softened, but his jaw was tight with resolve.

"This case is going to be treated as a homicide."

* * *

TBC

 _Mein Gott -_ My God _in German_

 _Nein -_ No _in German_

 _I think I should just admit I am terrible at updating. I do have_ Spirit of Justice _as an excuse._

 _I do have this story planned out, but_ Spirit of Justice _has given me so much to work with that I have a lot of renewed excitement for this story. Things are definitely starting to heat up now! Please tell me what you think. It would mean a lot. :D_


	6. Chapter 6

Athena felt every crease of crevice of the car seat underneath her, and it occurred to her that it was the second time in two days that she sat in the passenger seat of Simon's car. They had seen each other maybe a few times after the trial. She had a brief thought that maybe it was fate, more than coincidence, but then she reminded herself of the circumstances.

"Don't you need to call the office?" Simon's question felt pointed, and the hairs on the back of Athena's neck rose a little.

"It's six," she replied tersely. "We close for the day at six."

"They should probably know where you are."

She clenched her fists. "You know where I am," she muttered under her breath. "Shouldn't that be enough for you?"

It sounded harsh, but Athena didn't apologize for it. She knew it was the age difference talking. Last time Simon saw her outside of a prison cell, she had been a child. Athena swore under her breath. She thought it wasn't possible to be more tightly wound. She stole a glance at Simon, and she didn't know if it made her feel better or worse that he looked just as tense. His knuckles around the steering wheel turned white, then flesh colored, then white.

She opened Widget, scanning through the information.

"What are you doing?"

She smiled a little. "Doing the Mood Matrix on you, why?"

" _What_?"

She let out a giggle. "Relax, I'm joking."

Simon's shoulders relaxed a hair, but his eyes still blazed. "That was a terrible ploy."

Athena shrugged. "I'm looking through the info on the case, familiarizing myself with it. Should make you feel better."

They pulled to a stop, and Athena closed Widget down and straightened in her seat. Simon took a moment, and then unbuckled his seatbelt.

"It doesn't," he said, but he got out of the car and didn't let her reply. Athena let out a loud huff of air before hurrying to follow him.

The sun began to touch the last third of the horizon as they made their way into the woods, the same woods that surrounded the Space Center. They passed the yellow tape that marked where the accident happened, although the only remains were scored grass and shattered glass pieces that glinted in the remaining sunlight. The vehicle must had been extracted the day before. Although the signs of the accident were all present, she couldn't believe that three people died in that spot.

She swallowed and looked away, following Simon into the line of trees. Athena didn't know where she was going. She never played in the forests as a child except for the very edge, because that was as far as Juniper could manage to convince her to go.

She didn't know why she had been so scared. She should have welcomed the silence when she was so young.

A mixture of pine needles and leaves crunched under her boots as she picked her way among the trees. She could hear Simon's breath in the remaining silence, steady and sure as a heartbeat, and Athena looked around. She couldn't believe that Ema could find a body like this, but her forensic abilities were without question. Athena's ears picked up one more noise.

"The river," she said.

Simon nodded. "We must be almost there."

They found the rushing stream, and started to follow it to the north. She saw movement near the mouth of the river, and she squinted her eyes.

"Ema!" she called, waving an arm.

Ema was crouching when they approached her. She straightened up and extended her hand out to Simon, who shook it the moment he was close enough.

"Thanks for the tip," Ema said, but her eyes stayed on the white outline. "It would have taken us at least a week to find her without it."

"At least," Simon echoed. "We didn't even know about her existence until shortly before I called."

"So the driver has gained consciousness?"

"Indeed."

Ema let out a huff of breath. "Well, I found a few things. Is it okay if Athena hears them?"

Simon turned towards the river. "She'll find out whether I want her to or not."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Athena said, her voice dry.

Simon ignored her. "Well?"

Athena looked around Ema at the white outline. The outline's head was in the river itself, with the body laying on the bank. Alexandra's bag lay just beyond it, near the trees. Other than that, Athena didn't see much out of the ordinary. She would have to get a closer look, but usually in her cases, her senses screamed out if something was wrong. Only two clues never bode well.

"As I said over the phone, she was shot with a small caliber weapon," Ema said. "In the temple, to be more precise."

"Death was instantaneous, then," Simon murmured.

"The killer must have positioned her body," Ema said. "She was found flat on her back, and only her head was in the river. The way she was killed, she would have landed on her side."

"With her head in the water..." Athena said. "Why would someone do that?"

Ema took a deep breath. "I haven't identified the body for a reason," she said. "Water has a way of destroying evidence. Her face isn't recognizable anymore."

Athena felt sick. She put her hands on her knees.

"Athena?" Simon's voice sounded like a warning to her, and she straightened. She couldn't melt down now. Not when she insisted she could handle it.

"Then we're dealing with an expert here," she said, keeping her tone as brisk as possible. "Especially if this is linked with the arson case. Fire and water. Both are enemies of evidence, as far as my experience goes."

Ema nodded. "That's what I was thinking. It's certainly compelling, but it's not evidence in and of itself. We need a real lead."

"We need an actual identification if we want to speed this along," Simon said.

"Agreed. I've called the police to investigate the scene while I get started on that." Ema checked her watch. "Dick should be here shortly. I'm going to head out, if that's okay."

"Sure." Athena said, looking around Ema. Where would she start?

"Oh, before I forget." Ema put a hand on her hip. "The bullet that killed her is odd."

Simon frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's incredibly small. I'm not sure of the exact caliber yet, though."

Athena and Simon both tensed at the same time, and they looked at each other. She could tell Simon was thinking the same thing.

"Interesting," he said. "I will keep that in mind."

Athena clenched both fists. She counted to herself, forming her lips around each number. " _Uno, dos, tres..."_

Ema began to leave, and she heard a roaring that didn't belong to the river in her ears. For the first time in over a year, she saw blood behind her eyes.

"Athena!"

She blinked and turned to Simon. "What?"

Simon shook his head. "That's the third time I called your name. I will be taking you home now."

Athena let out a hissing breath between her teeth. "The next time you say something like that, I'm going to kick you in the shins."

"Athena-"

"Don't 'Athena' me," she snapped, because she really didn't want to hear what he would say next. "I'm just more determined now, okay? And no matter what you do, I'll find a way back to this case, so just _stop_ , okay?"

She spun and took several angry strides before he caught her by the hand.

With all of their friendly touches in the past few days, this felt different. His fingers slid between hers and gripped the back of her palm. It jerked to her a stop, and she turned back slowly to see the fire in his eyes. His mouth was carefully taut.

"I'm allowed to be concerned," he said quietly.

She closed her eyes. Callouses rubbed against her palm, but the rest of his skin felt oddly smooth. He squeezed her hand once before letting go, and her own hand fell at her side. It tingled, and she wanted to grab it again. Her uneven breathing made her mouth fell open ever so slightly, and she could have sworn she saw Simon's eyes dart down for just a second.

 _No. Bad train of thought._

"I'm fine," she said.

He nodded, and Athena couldn't tell if he was just humoring her. "A .10 caliber bullet doesn't have the ability to kill someone," he said. "Not unless the killer rested the gun at her temple, and from the circumstances, it doesn't look like that happened."

Athena didn't relax much. "Ema will call us once she has more information, I'm sure."

Simon met her eyes again. "Certainly."

She nodded and picked her way to the white outline. She shoved her misgivings to the side, where they belonged at the moment. _"Auf geht's. Let's_ investigate, shall we?"

Simon picked his way around her. "I'll be monitoring. I don't need the paperwork involved with a green defense messing up the crime scene."

Well, it wasn't a _no_ , but...

"You're so nice to me," she grumbled, and she let in a deep breath. "The river sounds far too calming, for what happened here."

Simon gave her a pointed look.

"What? I was just trying to start up a conversation..."

"Do Justice-dono and Wright-dono let you talk this much on a regular basis?" he asked loftily, and he pointed towards a tree nearest to the bank. "We should take a look at this. There seems to be blood on the bark."

"Seriously? How the hell can you see that?" Athena picked through the leaves, and her nerves made her aware of every leaf, every twig on the ground. The last thing she needed was to step on something and Simon give her crap for it...

" _Mein Gott,_ there is." She didn't touch it, and she had to kneel, but she could see a dark brown splatter on it. The body outline had to be only a yard or so away. "You have the eyes of a _falke._ "

"Do you always speak this much German during a case?"

"You sound like Apollo," she said. "Anyway. It looks like splatter to me."

"It probably happened when she was shot," he said, kneeling down near Athena. "From the pattern, it looks like she was running when it happened."

Athena had no idea how he knew this, but she took his word for it. "So a skilled shooter," she said quietly. "Especially with so many trees around."

His mouth twisted a little, and Athena quickly stood up and turned towards the body outline. She didn't want him to try and convince her to leave again. The river soaked the area by rippling up in layers, turning dirt and silt into a soft layer of mud. Water carried all of the blood away ever since the body was moved. Something caught her eye, reflecting from the grass.

"Is that glass?"

Simon followed her gaze, and nodded. "It appears so. The shards are very fine, though. I would say powder consistency."

"Don't pick them up."

Simon gave her an askance look out of his peripherals. "I wasn't planning on anything of the sort."

Athena flushed and looked down at the scattered leaves and twigs. "I don't see any footprints," she said. "Isn't that weird? The grass seems pretty wet to me."

"Not necessarily, with so much foliage in the way." Simon straightened and frowned at their surroundings. "It doesn't look like anyone was running through here, though."

Athena swallowed, and she didn't want to ask the next question. "Maybe there are clues on the other side of the river?"

The river was bound to be cold, and she was in her nice suit. She didn't want to ruin it. Judging how Simon's face pinched a little, he didn't seem thrilled by the notion of crossing either. The river ran slow, but it wouldn't make the experience any more pleasant.

Athena thought for a minute. "Hmm, I wonder..." she murmured aloud, and walked along the bank.

"What are you doing now?"

"Looking."

Athena heard a loud sigh from behind her. "I am not coming to rescue you if you fall in the river, so just save us both the trouble."

Athena sighed back at him. "Give me some credit, here." A couple of rocks poked up from the river, slick but had good traction. She stepped in the mud, wincing as it splashed up on her white boots. The river looked clear, so she could see the running pebbles and moss at the bottom. "I think you have the better end of the bargain here. Your boots are black."

"Not as easily replaced as yours, it would seem," he retorted. He stood behind her now, casting a shadow that towered over hers. "Now, what in the heavens are you thinking?"

"Thanks," she muttered under her breath, and she jumped on the first rock. Like she thought, it was slick but steady, and she took off to the next one, focusing on the balls of her feet until she made it to the other side of the bank.

"See?" she called, and she gave him a smile. "Easy."

He didn't smile back, but he looked at her from under the hair in his face. Her smile faltered for a second, but she needn't have worried.

He moved so fast. She knew that he followed her exact path, but other than that, he seemed a blur as he landed at her side. She gave a little gasp, and then chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing." She turned around. The forest looked similar: trees, undergrowth, pine needles, mud from the rains. "Just surprised me, is all."

"There's plenty of opportunity to exercise in prison, believe it or not," Simon said as he scanned the area.

"I had to," Athena said suddenly. "I needed to be strong enough."

She felt Simon's gaze on her back as she picked through the various foliage and branches. "I found footprints!" she said. "Look!"

Simon came a stop next to her. Sure enough, faint prints of shoes made their way to the river. They wove around trees, but disappeared as they got older and closer to the edge of the woods. The woods seemed far too silent. Athena thought she would see birds or chipmunks or squirrels or something by now.

"Can Widget take pictures?"

She responded by opening Widget's screen. She took several pictures of the footprints. "I'll send them to your office."

"I'm grateful," Simon said. "I think that's it for here. There just aren't any clues."

Athena frowned. "That's so strange, though. Even the most impossible cases have more clues than this."

"I don't think I've seen anything quite like this, either," Simon admitted. "We'll have to ask Ema if she finds anything on the body."

 _She'd better, or we are never solving this case._

"So there isn't enough information to accuse anyone," Athena said. "That's a new one."

"Agreed. Usually there is some indication." The corners of Simon's mouth tugged downwards. "What we have here is just... nothing."

They made their way across the river, and Athena grimaced when she looked down at her boots. Splatters of mud and wet moss hung on them like hideous Christmas decorations, and she knew she would have to run them through the washer. She sighed as she started making her way towards Simon's car.

"Athena."

She stopped and turned to look at him. He seemed hesitant; he cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at her.

"What?" she prodded.

He sighed. "Look, I don't believe you aren't capable of what's happening here." He ran a hand over his hair. "I just... worry."

Athena tilted her head, before nodding slowly. "Okay."

His shoulders fell a fraction before he started walking, brushing past her. "Let us depart from this place, shall we?"

Athena blinked a few times before following him.

* * *

Her phone blared at around nine, about half an hour after she got home. Only a few people would call Athena at this hour, and she answered it without looking at the screen.

"Hello?"

"You sound tired, Princess."

Athena let out a dry laugh. "Hi, Aura. Yes, you can say that." She was sitting on her bed, looking at the alarm clock glowing in the darkness. She got up and flicked on the light switch. She wondered if Simon had even touched the food she made him.

"Any news?"

It occurred to Athena that Aura probably didn't have a clue that Caden was going to be okay, much less gained consciousness. She chewed her lip. She considered Simon, and then her own opinion. How much could she say?

"Oh God," Aura groaned in the phone. "I can practically _hear_ you thinking. Should I remind you that I'm the older sibling in this relationship?"

Athena cracked a smile. "You're also the sibling under probation in that relationship."

"Not this again." Athena could imagine Aura rolling her eyes. "He stays in death row for seven years and hardly anyone blinks an eye when he's released. I get probation for saving his ass, and it's the end of the world."

Athena burst out laughing.

"What?"

She couldn't answer right away. Hysterics seemed inevitable with all that's happened, and she waved her hand in front of her face. "I'm sorry."

"Quit being such a drama queen and just tell me."

So Athena told her, sparing her the details about the paint thinner since she promised. She told the rest: Caden's recovery, Alexandra's mysterious death, and the lack of a suspect.

"Ugh. Why does everything have to be so complicated with the Space Center?"

Athena made a noncommittal noise.

"But then again..." Aura sighed. "Didn't Caden just up and leave and disappear?"

"That's what I remember." Athena ran her finger over her bed sheets. "And it's not like the Center is without connections."

"Some days it could fool me, but I know." Aura was quiet for a minute. "Well, thank you for telling me."

"Don't tell Simon. Or do anything drastic," Athena replied with a wry smile. "He seems pretty sure I can't handle all of this."

"You can't."

Athena knew that she shouldn't expect to be on speaking terms with Aura so soon, but the other woman seemed cordial. Now she felt like an idiot. Pain blossomed in her chest and her stomach settled. She wanted to be sick. "Well, I'm hanging up now."

"Not what I meant, Princess." Somehow, Aura sounded gentle. "You can't handle all of this at once. Simon shouldn't be able to either, but somehow, that's what he's doing. It's exactly why you need to be on this case."

Athena blinked. "Huh?"

"It'll make sense later." Aura returned to a brisk tone. "Just call me with any other news. We all know Simon won't. See ya."

The phone beeped in her ear.

Athena stared at it with confusion. It seemed Aura took a page out of her boss's book as far as being coy and vague went, and she _really_ didn't like it.

It would be a long, long night.

* * *

She woke up the next morning with needles in her eyes and her throat cracked like the desert, but she had to get up for work. Maybe she would run today to wake herself up.

She downed the rest of her container of orange juice and took to a brisk jog. Normally she would be setting up little races for herself. Get to the stop sign before that car does. Jump over the sidewalk cracks. Race that jogger on the other side of the street even though he has no idea what's going on. That kind of thing. Her mind remained too busy for it.

 _That poor girl..._

What on earth had _happened_ that night?

She shook her head and put in earbuds, since her own mind wasn't enough to keep herself company. She probably worried her coworkers enough at this point. She could still see the looks on their faces when she all but slammed the door in them. She had been acting rather weird, she supposed. Athena forced herself to smile. These were her friends, after all. She shouldn't dread seeing them.

She rounded the corner and pulled the door open. Apollo and Phoenix had to blink the sleep out of their eyes to acknowledge her, but Trucy could operate at all ends of the day and earth. Her energy appeared limitless.

"Athena!" she rejoiced, throwing her arms wide and showing off her costume. It looks like she wanted to take a bow, and Athena had to laugh a little. "You're back!"

"You're not going to run out on us again, are you?" Phoenix's voice sounded strangely monotone, but Athena knew his symptoms from the morning. He looked more tired than usual, though, and Athena found herself scrutinizing his under-eye circles. "And why are you staring at me?"

Athena squinted her eyes. "You look exhausted."

"Don't avoid the subject."

Athena raised her hands. "I'm sorry I've been odd lately. Work has just been a bit taxing, and something happened to the Space Center so I've been trying to keep up on that. I'm not mad at any of you guys or anything."

Apollo frowned. "What's going on with the Space Center?"

Athena filled him in on the building arson case, but not the car accident. She had to let herself smile on the inside on this one: the complete opposite of Aura. At the end of the story, Apollo jumped to his feet.

"Easy there, tiger," Trucy said. "It sounds like the investigation is well underway."

"It is." Athena gave Apollo a quick smile. "I've made sure of it. We're not even 100 percent positive it is arson. I'll keep you updated, okay?"

Apollo sat down, but he pinched the bridge of his nose. "One thing after another. Clay would hate to see this."

Athena rested her hand on his shoulder. "My mom, too. We'll figure it out."

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes dark and narrow, but he didn't say anything else on the subject. "I don't even have a case to focus on," he said. "This is going to drive me nuts." Athena noticed his leg twitching underneath his desk.

"Go for a run," Athena told him. "That's what I do."

Apollo laughed, although it sounded strained. "We all know I'm not the prime of physical condition, Athena. You've 'won' enough of your made-up races to know that."

She sighed. "Suit yourself."

She made her way to her own desk, and she sat down in the swivel chair she made Mr. Wright buy for her when she became more of a permanent fixture around the office. She pushed herself back and forth.

"So they don't even have a list of suspects yet?"

Athena shook her head. "No, they..." Her voice trailed off. The small, golden bullet was still on her desk, the corner. Where she put it, she supposed, but she had forgotten about it until now. Before, it just confused her. Now it gave her chills.

 _Why?_

Athena stared at it. It was only because she had just finished examining someone who had been shot. That had to be it. It was too big to be a bullet from the Phantom case.

"Earth to Athena!" Apollo sounded irate, and when she turned toward him, he had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. "You were saying?"

"Oh, sorry," Athena said, shaking her head. "It's in its preliminary stages. I mean, you could go to the Center and see for yourself, I guess, but you won't get any answers. I didn't."

Apollo's face softened. "I'm sure that's rough. You don't have any cases soon either, don't you?"

She grinned at Apollo, but it lacked her usual gusto. "No, but it's just as well. I'm a mess. Can't think straight."

Apollo made his way to her desk and dropped a manila envelope near her elbow. Probably her payment for the month. "And that's different from any other day, how...?"

Athena shoved her elbow into his side. "Oh, hush, you."

"Ow!"

"No fighting, you two." Trucy practiced conducting her wands while she lectured them. "Not in here, anyway. You'll knock something over, and then this agency will need new lawyers."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Anything I knock over can't possibly be yours, right? It's not like you take up 70 percent of the office with your stuff anyway..."

Through their bickering, Athena's senses began to go off. She looked over, and Phoenix stared at her from next to Charley the house plant. They looked thoughtful, and Athena looked back at him. What did he want?

"Apollo," Phoenix said at last, adjusting in his seat. "If you want, you can take the latest case of mine."

Apollo swung towards him, and his face brightened like a kid on Christmas. "Seriously?"

Their boss shrugged. "I could use the breather. Go for it. You know the basic premise on it, right? You were here."

"A stabbing in the stereotypical dark alley," Apollo said, all in one breath. "Who could forget? The defendant's father asked for our help."

Mr. Wright sat back in his chair, his mouth cocked in a crooked smile. "Alright, Mister Eager, here you go." He held the case file over his desk.

"Yes! Awesome." Athena smiled at her coworker's enthusiasm, and how his attitude changed in a matter of seconds. Not only did Apollo constantly want to prove himself to their boss, he also couldn't stand being bored. Athena smiled at Phoenix. The distraction from the Space Center would be welcome, too; she was sure. But still...

"Apollo, you can come with me to the Space Center after work, if you want," she said. "I plan on stopping by."

"Sure, that sounds great." Apollo already sounded distracted, but he gave her a thumbs up. He sat back down behind his desk and started reading the file.

Athena looked over at Trucy, about to offer her help (Trucy was now struggling to get Mr. Hat to fit inside a tiny compartment) before Trucy lifted her head towards her father, and tilted it in Athena's direction.

 _Huh?_

She looked back at her boss, who sighed. "Athena, can I talk to you for a minute outside?"

Athena's insides tingled. "Um, yeah." She accidentally shoved the chair into her leg, and she barely hid her wince. "Sure."

Phoenix got up and walked out the door, and Athena followed him after a moment's hesitation. He stood on the sidewalk, his coattails slightly lifted from the breeze. Sunlight reflected off the mica in the concrete, and Athena could hear children playing in the park across the street. He looked so serious, and Trucy had urged him to talk to her in the first place. She steeled herself.

"What's up, Boss?"

He sighed again, and he sent a hand in the back of his hair. "I'm sure you noticed that I haven't been around that much."

Athena frowned. "I don't know about that. It seems pretty normal." She looked up at the sky, thinking. "But I guess you've looked more tired. And you're dressed up all fancy like, more than your usual get up. What's up with that?"

Phoenix took a deep breath.

Athena made her eyes go wide."You didn't meet a _girl_ , did you?"

He choked on his own spit. " _What_?"

"I thought you had your hopes set on Ms. Fey, but you know..."

He groaned, putting his forehead in his fingers. "Athena."

"Sorry, sorry," Athena said. "Okay. So, seriously, what's up? It can't be that bad."

"The police force have started interrogating the Phantom, Athena. And they've asked me to sit in on the sessions."

Athena went still.

"I wasn't sure if I should tell you or Apollo, because I can't reveal much to you two. Trucy seemed to think that you should know the truth, though."

"Why?" Athena's voice came out in a whisper. She cleared her throat and repeated, "Why? I knew it had to happen. What does it matter?"

Mr. Wright gave her a long look, one that made her question everything. What did he know? What did the Phantom say? Did Gumshoe talk to him? Athena had to look away from him, focus on the long blades of grass outside their office. The lawn needed trimming.

"With what's going on with the Space Center now, we need to keep our guard up," he said at last. "We need to prepare for the worst."

"Like what? Is he going to escape?" Athena sounded incredulous, even to her own ears.

Mr. Wright laughed. "No. Not under Prosecutor Blackquill's watch. I just wanted to let you know. If anything happens, I don't want you to be caught off guard. I don't know anything in particular yet, anyway."

"Okay." Athena felt jumbled, but she managed to give a nod in his direction. "I appreciate it."

Her boss returned the nod before heading back into the office. But Athena stood outside for a long time, processing everything. It had been a year after that awful trial, and everything came to a close. Now Athena realized it was just the first act. She was a fool to think things would go back to normal.

After all, she wasn't sure of much of anything anymore.

* * *

TBC

 _Uno, dos, tres -_ one, two, three in Spanish

 _Auf geht's -_ Let's go in German

 _Mein Gott -_ My God in German

 _Falke -_ Falcon, hawk in German


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Athena made a huge plate of pancakes swallowed in powdered sugar and topped with berries, some bacon on the side dotted with white, and a full glass of orange juice right next to it on the table. It was quite a long affair to make, burning her pinky finger from spitting fat and dropping a thankfully cold skillet, but it was so worth it. She smelled sweetness and grease, and sighed. This was the life. She settled down in the wooden chair and picked up a fork, sawing away a bite and putting it in her mouth.

Her phone went off.

"Hullo?" Athena's mouth was still full and sticky from pancake.

"Come down." Aura's voice sounded flat. "Now."

Her phone went dead.

Athena gave her bright, delightful food a forlorn look before sighing again and pulling a Tupperware container from a top kitchen cabinet.

When she got on the road, Athena noticed that the rainy weather earlier in the week had cleared up considerably. Everything looked so bright and alive, and Athena still wasn't used to the fact that death still happened when children played in the park and couples walked their dogs. It felt odd to go to the Space Center instead of her office or to a crime scene. Apollo was too busy with his new case to go with her the day before, and she didn't see the point of going anyway. Not when there wasn't any new information.

She pulled into the parking lot and saw no one waiting for her outside the center, the loud and bright GYAXA logo winking cheekily at her. She let out a huff of breath and made her way to the entrance.

Reception seemed more frenzied than normal, with papers scattered about and the computer screen black. Athena could have sworn she heard "I don't get paid enough for this" before the receptionist flashed a fake smile in her direction.

"May I help you?"

She had to be new, Athena thought. To not recognize her. This receptionist had her hair neatly pulled into a side bun and her makeup was perfect, and the mess in front of her was disconcerting as a result. "I'm going to see Ms. Blackquill."

"Oh." She blinked. "Um. Okay."

Athena walked off before she could change her mind. She would need to let Aura know about that one.

She didn't even have to think about finding the robotics lab. Up the elevator, down the hall, third on the right. It was still in her muscle memory, down to her core. When she walked in, she avoided looking at the operation table and the work bench, which, to be fair, took up most of the lab.

This would be just as awkward as last time she was here.

"So," she said, folding her hands behind her back. "What's up?"

Aura sat at her desk, which was better described as a whirlwind of tech and pens and papers. Still, Athena could spot her mother's picture in an instant. She looked at the floor.

"Sit down," Aura said, seemingly unaware of Athena's discomfort.

Athena obliged, sitting at the corner of the massive desk. She occupied herself by staring at the assortment of wires, screwdrivers, and bolts that seemed more cluttered here than near Aura, as if she had shoved everything to the end of the desk at some point. Probably called it cleaning.

Athena heard a loud sigh. "I don't bite, for God's sake. Scoot over."

She bit back an 'are you sure?' and rolled her chair near the older woman, who clicked through multiple pulled tabs on her computer. "What's up?" she repeated.

"I wanted to give you a couple of things," Aura said, sounding all business. "The first is what I could find on Caden Barrow."

"Oh, um, thank you-"

"The whole file is quite boring, but there's something of note on the last page. I'll give you the whole thing, just in case." Aura added a couple of clicks. "There. Sent the whole thing to Widget."

Widget chimed.

Athena scratched her head. _Did I need to be here for that?_ "Okay," she said slowly.

"Also." Aura switched through multiple tabs effortlessly. "Just a heads up, I hacked the forensic department's database."

Athena shot up to her feet, sending her chair rolling clear to the other side of the lab until she heard the telltale sound of plastic hitting against metal, probably the gigantic prototype robot. "You _what_?"

"Simon doesn't know," Aura added like that meant anything. "Preferably it will stay that way."

Athena let out her breath in a rush. "How... why...?"

"I don't believe the two incidents are coincidence," Aura replied, hitting the 'enter' button so hard that it belied her frustration, even though her face was clear. "I know it was an arson attempt, even if you two are trying to hide it from me."

Athena was silent for a minute. "It was Simon's idea."

"I figured." Aura hit a few more buttons, and the rolling and humming sounds of a printer started echoing in the lab.

"He didn't want you doing anything stupid," she added pointedly. "Like hacking the forensic department's database."

Aura shrugged. "When this case hits the courtroom, and it will, I have no doubt you will be the defense attorney. The prosecution isn't going to give you this info. You know I'm right."

"Simon will-"

"Simon will have his hands tied," Aura said with finality. "And he will want to shield you the best he can, anyway."

Athena tensed. "If he would stop treating me like a child..."

Aura rolled her eyes. "Blah, blah, blah. My brother can be far worse than overbearing." She pointed towards the printer. "Take the reports and get out. I have better things to do than listen to you complain." With that, Aura pressed the button on the monitor and let it turn black.

Athena sat back in her chair, stung. She knew Aura used to hate her, but still... she never knew what to say when Aura got like this, and she hated it. After a few seconds of silence, and it became clear Aura wasn't going to say anything else, she got up and headed towards the printer. The room closed in on her like it always did, with the operating table in her peripherals, but she did her best to ignore it. Kept walking, one foot in front of the other, until she had her hands around the reports.

When she turned around, she saw Aura staring at her mother's picture. Framed and beautiful, kept pristine after all these years... she watched Aura swallow, and Athena let out a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she said, even though Athena had no idea what she was sorry for. She just knew grief was always a shared endeavor. She wasn't the only one.

"You have no reason to be," Aura said, but she didn't look up.

Athena didn't say anything. She didn't know how to address the tension that still existed, even though she was cleared of all charges for her mother's murder.

Finally, Aura laughed. A dry, short laugh that reflected no mirth. It gave Athena chills just to listen to it. "She always talked about you," she said. "Always reflected our work towards you. Towards helping you."

It hurt to hear. This part never got easier. Athena clenched her fists. "I know," she whispered.

Aura shook her head. "Do you? I know what you thought, before that trial. Do you even know what that means? What it means to me?"

"I can't change what I remember," Athena said.

If Aura heard her, she didn't show it. "And then Simon had to go and do the same thing. All for your sake."

Athena folded her arms around herself. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Aura leaned back. "And... well. What is it about you?"

Athena organized the mess in her hands. "I'm just going to leave," she said. "I didn't come here so you could have a go at me."

Aura blinked, like she had no idea she talked out loud. "Fine," she said. Athena walked past her, not bothering to say thank you. She had to blink several times herself. She would _not_ start crying. She wouldn't.

Aura was muttering something under her breath when she shut the door.

Athena took a deep breath and did her best to pull herself together. Deep breaths. One, two three. It wasn't a secret that Aura didn't like her. She wasn't sure Aura liked _anyone_. So why would it matter now?

Why did it hurt so much?

She opened the door again, without thinking. "That receptionist is useless," she blurted out, refusing to look in Aura's general vicinity. "Just so you know."

She slammed the door shut again and left, ears burning.

* * *

It wasn't until she got to work that she realized what she had in her hands.

Documentation, for that case. Illegal documentation, but she couldn't deny that she had to jump through hoops to get this kind of information anyway.

"What's that, Athena?" Apollo barely looked up from his desk.

"Nothing," came her automatic response.

Apollo didn't reply. For once, his unwillingness to dig for information from people unless he truly had to was a godsend. She took the moment to look around the office.

"Where are Mr. Wright and Trucy?"

"Out," Apollo said. "Mr. Wright is watching one of her rehearsals."

Athena stared at him. "And you aren't being her handy dandy assistant?"

Apollo flipped a page in his own dossier, studying all the while. "She hired a new one," he said, and even multitasking couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Someone who was linked to her family once. Mr. Reus or something like that. Either way, someone less likely to hurt himself on the stage."

"And now you're able to work more legal related... work?"

Apollo's grin turned into one of leisure. "Precisely." He put the file down. "Is everything alright with the Space Center? I'm sorry I couldn't go yesterday."

"No major news yet." Athena drummed her fingers on the desk. It wasn't quite a lie.

"My bracelet just reacted."

" _Verdammt,_ " she muttered under her breath, before thinking for a moment. "It's just a tricky case, Apollo. It's been a few days and there's still no suspect..."

He started. "Still?"

"Still. There's a murder that doesn't make much sense, since she was in a car accident that should have killed her or at least left her seriously wounded. She was found in the woods with basically no clues. The driver of the car accident has connections with the Space Center, and..." Athena frowned. Maybe she said that in the wrong order.

Apollo scratched the back of his head. "I'm confused."

Athena pressed her fingers just above her eyes. "Me too."

Apollo let out a short laugh, and then let the office fall into silence again. And again, Athena found herself appreciating her coworker's unassuming reaction."Does Prosecutor Blackquill know about this?" he asked at last, looking at her.

Flashes of Simon flew through her brain, like sped up clockwork. Driving her to Juniper's. Standing next to her at Caden's bedside. Warning her off the investigation. Touching her hand for a second too long...

"Oh," Athena deadpanned, resting her elbows on her desk. "He knows."

Apollo's eyes softened. "Why don't you go home, take the rest of the day off? You've been thinking about this non-stop for the past few days. I can tell."

Athena sat back in her chair. "Haven't you? At least a little?" Phoenix's words still rang in her head. Interrogating the Phantom. They probably wanted information on the spy organization, which they wouldn't get anytime soon.

"Between this case and Trucy trying to kill me in one of her shows, I've been busy," he said. "I can always get the down low from you once this turns into a case, if it does."

Athena stared at him. "You compartmentalize so well."

Apollo snorted and gave a self-conscious shrug. "You have a little more at stake here. Now, go home. That's an order from your senior associate."

Sighing, Athena got up from her desk and grabbed her bike lock key. "Promise to call me if anything happens."

"I promise."

* * *

On her way outside, she had her phone to her ear.

"Hey Junie! Guess what, I have the day off..."

This time, Athena pointedly avoided any topic of the case, as well as Simon. She caught Juniper giving her several strange looks as she steered the topic of conversation away from them, but she thankfully didn't say much on it. They mostly stuck to Athena's apartment, eating leftover pancakes and watching movies. Athena had a light smile as they sat with their legs folded up on her small couch, watching anything that came on the channel.

"Well," Juniper said after a few hours. "I probably need to get home."

Athena nodded. "Okay." She stood up from her spot on the couch. "Thank you for stopping by. It was fun."

"It was." Juniper smiled at her. "It's probably good for you to relax a bit. You have a lot going on."

Athena hesitated, before taking the cue. "Yeah, well, it's probably going to go downhill from here."

"And you don't want to talk about it."

It was more of a statement than a question. Athena gave a small laugh. She adjusted her position on her place on the couch, folding her legs underneath her.

"I'm pretty sure I'm at the point where I can't. Legally, anyway."

Juniper nodded. "Fair enough. But I'm pretty sure you can talk about Simon whenever you want."

Athena squinted her eyes at her. What was that academy teaching her old friend, anyway? How to one-up attorneys?

"Nothing to tell," Athena said, and it was a half truth. Nothing had _happened_ , per se. Just a lot of confusing emotions she couldn't pick through. Not anytime soon, anyway.

"Uh huh." Junie swung the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she made her way towards the door, slipping her feet in her sandals. "Do you want me to turn this light off?"

Athena rose. "Naw, I need to lock the door behind you."

Junie opened the door to leave. "Oh!" Her exclamation stopped Athena. "Prosecutor Blackquill!"

 _Huh?_

Athena jogged over to the door and pushed it all the way open. Sure enough, Simon stood in her doorway. He held a grocery bag in his hand. He gave her a quick glance.

"Greetings." His voice was low. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no," Juniper hastened to reassure him, pushing her bag further up her shoulder. "I was just leaving." She looked at Athena, even though there was no way the hawk-eyed prosecutor would miss it. Athena shrugged.

"Feel free to come in," Athena told him. Juniper stepped aside, and it occurred to Athena for the first time that this apartment was really rather small. Simon's shoulders almost filled the doorway, and his head nearly reached the top. Granted, he also had a rather formidable presence; his height and stature only added to it...

Her jaw tightened and she turned her head with a snap. She caught her own eyes searching far, far too long. She swallowed. She knew that he was looking at her.

"So, um." Juniper retreated behind her mousy voice, but when Athena turned towards her, she noticed that her friend's eyebrows rose halfway up to her short bangs. "I'll see you around...?"

Athena nodded. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Juniper smiled, and then shut the door behind her.

Athena folded her arms, but smiled to offset the look. "So," she said. "What's up? What are you doing here?"

Simon held up the grocery bag. "I'm returning your containers. Albeit a bit unannounced."

"Oh! Thank you." She took the bag from him and looked inside. The Tupperware containers were all empty, and she couldn't stop a wide grin. "I hope you liked it. What I made, I mean."

"I didn't expect cooking to be a talent of yours." Simon pushed back his bangs, only to have them fall back in his eyes.

Athena laughed. "There's a compliment in there somewhere."

Simon let his mouth quirk up into a crooked smile. "If you wish there to be." He looked around, taking in her apartment. "I suppose I should admit I've wanted to stop by for a while. I just lacked an excuse."

Athena considered him for a moment before going to put her things away. Simon had already washed them, it looked like, so she reached up in the appropriate cabinet. "So... a courtesy call?"

"Something like that. I can always leave if you require it."

"No, no. Don't be silly. It's fine." Athena returned to the living room, when a thought struck her. "Wait a sec. Where did you get my address? I don't remember giving it to you..."

"You didn't. Justice-dono was of some help in the matter."

She nodded. "Ah. Well. I'll have to speak with him. Giving out where I live to random people. Not very becoming."

Simon let out laughter that still sounded harsh, not unfamiliar from the courtroom, but Athena could hear his heart lurking under the surface. Faint threads of genuine mirth flowed through, and it started warm stirrings in the bottom of her stomach. She grinned at him. "Have a seat. I can get you some water."

He complied, and she strode into the kitchen. "You don't live very far from me," she heard him rumble over the sink's running water.

She turned off the faucets. "Nope. Within walking distance, I'm pretty sure." Handing him a glass, she settled down next to him. She sipped at her own water. "You know, you're always welcome here. You don't need an excuse or anything."

Simon was silent for a long moment, his expression contemplative. Athena let him do so, folding her legs underneath her on the couch. "I will keep that in mind."

"Good. Even when you're being a crab apple, that fact won't change."

"...what did you just call me?"

Athena laughed. "I apologize," she said, even though she didn't mean it. "That wasn't very becoming."

Simon shook his head, but his eyes started to lose their common edge. They looked brighter, and warmth started pooling in her stomach and the sides of her throat. "Now you're beginning to sound like me."

She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "I pick up languages pretty fast. Fancy samurai speech included."

"I wouldn't go that far," he said. "You definitely lack culture."

"Oh, be quiet." Athena rolled her eyes. She drained the rest of her water. "Back on the previous topic, I'm sorry I haven't been around. It's been busy around the office too."

After the UR-1 retrial, she met up with Simon at least once a week for dinner and the like, and it mostly consisted of her dragging him around to her favorite places. He never complained, but he was quiet. Athena knew it was a combination of shock and disbelief, as well as not knowing what to say. Athena was the same way. They often sat or stood in silence, reveling in each other company. Athena knew now they were, most likely, just trying to convince themselves that the other was really there.

But life went on. It always did. She knew now that after the purging of the Prosecutor's Offices, Simon had the brunt of the work. And Athena herself was ambushed with cases after the Dark Age of the Law came to an end.

"I can't believe it's been a year," she said quietly, without meaning to.

She could feel Simon shift next to her. "Your apartment looks like mine," he said. Athena frowned for a moment, but it occurred to her that what he said _was_ an answer, in his own Simon way.

Athena pointed to the TV. "I bought that a few weeks ago."

He nodded. Gratified on his response, she continued. "I was so behind on the times when I came back that I felt like I never knew what was going on. I finally got around to getting one. Of course, Apollo and Mr. Wright basically live under rocks themselves, so I'm always the knowledgeable one..."

"Now, that's a terrifying thought. Given how unprepared you are in the courtroom."

"You're rude." Athena laughed at him as she got up to put her empty glass back in the sink. She was glad she could hear the teasing threads in his voice, otherwise his dark humor would go over her head. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No. I was planning on doing so when you left."

Athena thought of her abandoned pancakes in the fridge. She had cooked enough for leftovers. "Well, if you don't despise my cooking, you could eat with me."

Simon looked at her over his shoulder. "I don't wish to impose."

"You're not. I mean, it's nothing special. Just pancakes from this morning. I guess it's just been awhile since we met up, and we finally have some room to breathe, and... I don't know..." she trailed off. He didn't try to cut over her rambling once, even though that probably would have been for the best. A flush rose from her cheeks.

He still didn't reply. Athena ran her hands her hair. "You probably want better food," she said. "I'm sorry, you can head out whenever you want to."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Didn't you notice I ate everything you left me?"

Athena shifted her weight. "You could have just thrown it out."

Simon stood up and walked around her couch. He stopped in front of her, just inches away, and Athena was sure her neck burned at this point. "Never."

She couldn't breathe for a moment. He had to bend his head to look at her, and she found herself moving her weight to the balls of her feet. They had never, _ever_ been so close, except for friendly hugs that weren't as charged. It took focus to step back and turn on her heel towards the fridge.

"Okay," she found herself saying. She opened the door. "Help yourself. And... thank you for the compliment, I guess."

A low chuckle tickled her ear, even though he was further away. "You fished for that one."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Guilty as charged."

He laughed again, and reached into her fridge.

A few trips to the microwave later, they sat at her table. Even though Simon's bangs covered his eyebrows, Athena could tell one was raised.

"This is a lot of food for one morning," he commented as he took a forkful.

She shrugged, and she took a series of bites before answering. She missed out this morning. "I just like cooking," she said after swallowing. "It helps calm me down. Like exercising."

"You were never much for cooking or exercising as a child."

"Yeah, well." Athena shrugged. "All the studying and practicing to be a lawyer wasn't going to do any good if I couldn't keep up in the courtroom."

Simon's hands stilled. This was the closest they came to talking about what she had done for him, other than the time he thanked her after the UR-1 retrial.

"It became habit," Athena finished lamely. She scratched the back of her neck, Apollo style. "Couldn't stop even if I tried, heh."

When he looked up, his expression was intense. "You did all of that... for...?"

He couldn't finish his sentence. She knew from the sounds of his heart. Surprise, slight anger, slight joy, sadness... they seemed to swirl around a few darker emotions, ones she couldn't pick through quite yet.

Athena put down her fork. "Someone had to."

This would be the time to bring up what Mr. Wright said about the Phantom, she knew. That had to be part of the reason why he sounded so off lately, why he wasn't sleeping. But something kept her silent. She bit her lip.

They resumed eating in silence.

When they finished, Simon helped her clean up. They moved in a quiet sort of unison, and even though Athena couldn't find what to say for the life of her, and it was rather awkward, she still felt comfort. She started loading dishes into the sink. Occasionally, she looked at his profile, and he kept his expression schooled and controlled.

At one point, her hands ran out of things to do. Simon ran into the same situation she did at roughly the same time. Athena didn't know if she should sit down again, offer him something, retreat somewhere... Her shoulders folded inwards.

"Um..."

Simon sighed. "I suppose I haven't been fully honest. I did come for... something else."

Athena turned her head towards him. "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"I have come to the conclusion that I should apologize."

Athena was taken aback. She racked her brain for anything he had done lately, anything they argued about. "Is this about you protecting me from the recent case?"

He snorted, and shook his head. "No. I will never apologize for _that_. Someone has to keep you out of trouble."

Athena bit back her response, letting out a huff of air instead. She thought of Aura, her comment about her brother. "Then, what?"

"The night you came over. I was... a bit harsh about your mother. You couldn't have known her intentions. Like you said, you were a child."

Athena tilted her head, thinking. Her hand went to her earring, flicking it, and Simon watched her do so with a focus that made the hairs on her arm prickle. "But you were right. I should have known."

"Athena-"

She shook her head. "I mean it. There had to be a reason that Aura thought I murdered her. There had to be a reason that you felt the need to..." She trailed off; she couldn't finish that sentence. It hurt to think about it. She looked up at the ceiling, counted to three. Her conversation with Aura felt vivid in her mind as she continued. "I mean, I only got along with you and Juniper, right? That... that's my fault."

Tears pooled at the edges of her eyes, and she impatiently wiped them away.

"You couldn't have known everything," Simon said softly.

She turned away. "That's not enough. Not for me. I haven't thought once that what you said wasn't justified. There's no need to apologize."

Athena almost jumped when his hand closed around her arm.

She stilled as he pulled her backwards, her feet moving by autopilot command. She let him turn her around and into his arms, pressed into his chest. She hesitated before pressing her face into his shoulder. His chin came to a rest on top of her head.

"Don't you remember showing me Widget?" he murmured.

"I'd hope so," Athena replied, her voice muffled in his surcoat. "It happened a few days ago. I'm not that scatterbrained."

He ignored her joking. "When I first came to the space center, you approached me when I was waiting in the lobby. You showed me a picture you drew; it was of a robot your mother and Aura were designing. You took the time to explain each part, even though I'm pretty sure you made most of them up, to a complete stranger who wanted to learn from your mother."

Athena swallowed. "I don't remember that."

"I don't expect you to." His arms tightened around her, and Athena's blood ran hot all over. She had to stop herself from shivering, and she wasn't sure how successful she was.

"You have always been gentle, and thoughtful," he said with finality. "That's how I knew what I saw was a mistake."

Athena clenched her eyes shut. He was definitely a master of psychology. He knew her own mind better than she knew her own. Knew how to reassure her, knew what was bothering her before she did, and suddenly, she felt lighter. Her arms slid up and around his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He let go of her in a flash, so suddenly that she stumbled forward a few steps. She caught herself on the kitchen counter, and when she found Simon's face, his eyes looked wild. The rest of his face was calm, although Athena didn't buy it for a second.

"Are you okay?" she asked, uncertain.

He looked at her for a long moment. "I'm fine."

Discord tightened around her ears.

He let out a long sigh. Athena thought of the Phantom, Caden Barrow, his sister, the shadow of her mother. He was carrying it all, just like he did for seven years. The thought had her reaching out towards him.

"Simon, please," she said. "Talk to me."

He gave a quick shake of his head. "I have to take my leave. Thank you for dinner. It's appreciated." She opened her mouth to say something, but he was out the door before she could. Athena stared at the closed door for minutes, at least.

 _What just happened?_

* * *

Athena couldn't sleep that night. She spent most of the time staring at the ceiling, turning on her side and back when either got too stiff, or blocking out the image of Simon leaving so urgently that she wondered if she did or said something wrong. Occasionally, she thought of Aura. The Blackquills were going to be the death of her.

She smacked her alarm clock. The glow read 5 am, and Athena let out a frustrated growl as she kicked both legs over the side of her bed. She would just head to the office. Catch up on filing, maybe even clean a little. She laughed to herself. Clean. It was a weird time for her.

When she arrived, she parked her car in the usual spot. The cold bit her arms and legs, and she hurried to the door to unlock it. Once inside, she only turned on the lamp on her desk. She didn't want the office to look like it was open quite yet.

While organizing her desk, she couldn't stop looking at the folder Aura had given her. It felt wrong to even look at it, but that thought didn't stay her hand long. She picked up the folder with the very tips of her fingers, flipping through the pages.

Caden's file was still on Widget, and she believed Aura when she said it wasn't too exciting. Whenever she tried to read through it, she only remembered the man who was in a hospital bed the last she saw him. Crazy, disheveled hair, dark eyes, and panic laced with drugs in his voice. She sighed. The file on Alexandra Ford, while illegal, would be much more enlightening.

The first page was a picture of the body, and Athena clapped a hand over her mouth. Her stomach choked back bile.

Ema was right. Her face didn't resemble anything human. The only thing that indicated that this was a human corpse was her long red hair falling over it, a hint of blue fabric peeking over her collarbone. Athena buried her face in her hands. Maybe Simon was right. She couldn't handle this. She would just take this right to their shredder and...

 _Stop it._

Athena swallowed and turned the page.

The next picture was a closeup image of her fanned out hair. Athena couldn't see why the image was needed, but the text next to it said that micro specks of a material consistent with glass was found embedded in her scalp, and a little bit in her hair. Any larger pieces, if they existed, must have been washed away in the river. She flipped the next page.

A tiny bullet entrance wound in her temple, probably the smallest she had ever seen, had stopped bleeding by the time the police pulled her out of the water. The skin around it was irritated pink, dark red in the center, washed clean. Nothing remarkable about that.

The next page showed the victim's torso, the t-shirt covered in micro tears. Again, consistent with glass. A snapshot of her jeans showed a gaping gash, washed free of blood, in her thigh. Athena frowned as she looked at the fine print. _Postmortem._

Bruises on her arms, torn muscles, signs of blunt force trauma. All had taken place after death, which was definitely caused by the gunshot to her temple. Athena's stomach seized. She had never seen a desecrated body. _Why?_ What was the purpose of that?

Athena sat back with her face in her hands, until she heard the familiar bell ring when the door opened. She jumped, and then hastily closed the folder.

"Athena?" Mr. Wright hid a yawn in the arm of his suit. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Nothing, sir," she said as brightly as she could, and it was probably a failed endeavor. Her boss's eyebrows shot up. "I thought I would get started on work early today."

He just stared at her. It was a valid disbelief. Athena usually came to the office around 9 or 10. Certainly not 6 in the morning. And his magatama was probably having a field day with her.

She swallowed. "Where's Apollo?"

"Sleeping, I imagine." Her boss sighed and made his way to his own desk, and he picked up the watering can for Charley. "Athena, is this about our conversation earlier?"

Athena stared at the closed file. "I don't think so? Maybe? Ugh. Everything has gotten complicated."

He looked up towards the ceiling, thinking for a moment."Hmm. Does it have anything to do with Prosecutor Blackquill, by chance?"

She let her hands fall to her sides. "How do you _do_ that?"

Mr. Wright's shrug was almost self-conscious. Almost. "I've had a lot of practice. Do you want to talk about it?"

She thought for a moment. She thought of eyes like broken glass, softening around the edges impossibly. His warnings to her about the case. Dinner. Her mother.

Hand touches... low voices... warmth as she hugged him.

That decided it. "Not really." She folded her legs up towards her chest, resting her heels on the edge of her chair. "Thanks, though."

He turned on the coffee machine, and the slow hum as it filtered filled the office. "My offer stands if that changes."

She didn't reply, and they didn't say another word until Apollo entered, not even bothering to mask his yawns.

It was a slow morning, which was a bit odd, but Athena didn't complain. She opened Widget and examined Caden's file, the one Aura sent her. She was right; it didn't have anything of interest. She even knew a lot of it: he mostly worked under Aura, but her mother occasionally took over as the role of mentor when Aura was too busy. What was most interesting was notes he scrawled in the margins, which he probably wasn't supposed to do. The untidy scrawl often went sideways, spelled out letters along the edges, and consisted of brief bursts, like inner monologue. A lot of it recited programming code, not unlike the programs that ran Widget, ones that he had trouble remembering.

It was mind-numbing. Athena was sure that Aura could recite this with maniacal glee, but she didn't need to read anything she already knew. She hid yawns in her sleeve, although she could tell Apollo and Mr. Wright looked at her a few times. She downed the rest of her orange juice that she poured in a water bottle that morning and got up to get her own serving of coffee before, for the first time, Caden's scrawl gave her pause.

 _Robot in the corner. Was meant for HAT-1, but way too big. Maybe_

The "e" of the word trailed off, like someone interrupted him. She imagined him flipping the file closed, twisting to greet someone, but she didn't see any pencil skips or page tears. Still, that didn't rule out the possibility.

She kept reading on, but it was followed with more programming code and notes about robots, particularly details he must have found difficult to remember. The more she read, though, the more she realized. She had seen Junie's textbooks, and her own, and they had taken as many notes in the margins, if not more. But they wrote down advanced concepts, stemmed from the basics.

All of Caden's notes were on the basics.

Simple programs, ones that Athena had learned just from using Widget. Common robotic language, which she knew because of growing up with Ponco. Athena looked on with renewed interest, feeling much more awake and she knew caffeine didn't have much to do with it.

She sat back in her chair. _How did Aura miss such a vital clue?_

She knew the answer as she thought about it. Because the notes were boring. Aura didn't complain about her intern. Caden wasn't particularly gifted, she remembered that, but he was hardly an idiot either. He _knew_ advanced topics, or he wouldn't have lasted at the Space Center as long as he did.

Athena sat back in her chair, hands on her temples. She chewed on her bottom lip until a sore began to form.

She skipped to the last page, remembering what Aura told her, even though she knew she would read every last page. She winced when the count reached the 200s, knowing that would keep her up all night. Oh well. She was younger than her coworkers. She would handle it, just like she did at school.

Sure enough, the clue Aura stumbled on was obvious.

 _Found it. Upper duct, right wing._

Drawn below it was a haphazard sketch. It reminded Athena of her early efforts as a child. Caden was no artist, which Athena knew was unfortunate. Aura's drawings for blueprints and even brainstorming were so extensive that they took up entire canvases, filled with smudged fingerprints and lines that were only possible after hours on hours of work. It required patience, and artistic integrity. That had to be part of the reason it didn't work out. But that wasn't her concern.

It was an insignia. Athena knew this because she had seen it before.

Deep arches shaped like wings shot upwards. Two sharp points in between them resembled talons, straight up and down. Athena found herself fighting visions.

She ran barefoot through grass covered in dew. A soft breeze shook the trees surrounding the Space Center, only dislodging leaves that were ready to let go. Light laughter lifted above it, and then, a moment of silence.

Athena shook her head, and she saw the office again. _What was that?_

The doorbell rang. A strange sense of foreboding appeared in her thoughts. Was it because of what she just read? Or everything else?

An old woman opened the door and let herself in. Apollo stood up, and walked over to shake her hand. Athena watched on, under the guise of reading Widget. Her boss behaved in a similar manner, but his eyes narrowed. She shifted in her seat.

"I have a request." Her voice sounded frail. "A defense request, I should say."

"Tell us all about it." Apollo crossed his arms, seemingly oblivious to the charged atmosphere.

"It's my son. He's been charged with murder."

Athena recognized her feelings at last. She knew exactly what this woman was going to say, what was going to happen. She turned off Widget and stood with her coworker.

"His name is Caden. Caden Barrow."

* * *

TBC

 _Verdammt -_ Dammit _in German._

 _Because we all saw this coming a mile away..._


	8. Chapter 8

Athena went through enough deja vu in the past couple of weeks alone to determine that it was overrated. She took a deep breath, but Apollo was already on the ball. She didn't remember mentioning Caden's name to her coworker, but it was possible. If she didn't, she knew that Apollo didn't watch much TV. Had he researched the case, to the best of his ability? Athena felt a pang in her chest. Things had been awkward between them ever since he accused him of Clay's murder, even though she had forgiven him almost immediately. He didn't have to do that, and she was touched by the gesture.

"I was under the impression this was primarily an arson case," Apollo said, frowning. "Are we talking about the car accident here?"

Athena sighed. "Yes. A woman who was supposed to be in the car was found in the woods with a gunshot wound."

"But this car accident-"

"Was so serious that it killed the other three who were in the car," Athena said. "A murder charge shouldn't even be possible."

Apollo stared at her. "You're kidding me."

"If only," Athena replied. Her voice felt and sounded thick to her. She shouldn't have been so surprised, despite knowing what would happen only minutes ago, but the fog wouldn't disperse. She remembered that the woman was still standing there, watching their conversation. "I'm sorry," she directed at Caden's mother. "I didn't catch your name."

"Sonya Barrow," she said immediately, stretching her hand. "You're Athena Cykes, aren't you?"

"You know me?"

The older woman started nodding before checking herself. The woman's salt and pepper hair was tied back too harshly for her face, and crevices started to form under her eyes, cheekbones, and neck. But her bright eyes, identical to Caden's, showed intelligence, and her mouth set off her jaw in a way that Athena identified as strength. "Well, we've never met, but I recognized your name outside the office."

"I'm lost," Apollo said.

"Sit down, please," Athena told her. "I'd like Apollo on this case, so we'll need an explanation."

Her eyes widened, and for a moment, her expression was panicked. "What about you?"

"I'll be leading the defense, of course." Athena gestured towards a chair, and repeated herself. "Please?"

The woman sat down. She gripped her hands together as if she had a bird in between them, and she didn't want it to fly away. Athena could see the minute trembles in the tendons of her wrist, her jaw, her bottom lip. Athena relaxed, but only a fraction. It generally said a lot if a relative looked shocked at their loved one's murder charge.

"I'm going to get her some water," she said under her breath to Apollo.

He nodded. "Good idea. I'll try to get caught up to speed."

Athena hurried along, bringing a glass to the bathroom tap. Apollo wasn't exactly the picture of tact and sympathy, as much as he tried to be.

Ms. Barrow had problems explaining everything, having to pause often to compose herself, so Athena helped her fill the gaps, sometimes taking over. When they were finished, Apollo sat back in his seat.

"Yeesh," he said. "That's a mess right there. No wonder you've been so busy."

"Yeah, well." Athena bit her lip. It wasn't like she was handling it that well. The file on Alexandra Ford seemed a lot closer to her than just her desk, all of a sudden. She rubbed her hands together. She didn't handle Aura with any sort of composure the day before.

 _"Simon will have his hands tied. And he'll want to shield you the best he can, anyway."_

Athena sat back in her chair. Did that mean he was the prosecutor for this case? How much had he told Aura, anyway?

It occurred to her that there was probably a lot Aura knew that Athena didn't. She assumed that Simon was just as closed lipped with anyone else as with her. She knew it wasn't fair, but a pit of anger began to blossom in her stomach.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "What exactly are the charges?" Athena winced, and Apollo gave her a look. She sounded way too brisk. This woman nearly lost her son, and now this...?

"I'm sorry," she added. "I can only imagine how difficult this is."

It was a platitude that she had repeated to countless clients, especially after the retrial of the UR-1 Incident. It always seemed like the right thing to say, but like all platitudes, it lost meaning to her after saying it so many times.

But it seemed to comfort Caden's mother, who relaxed by fractions into the chair.

"He was cleared of any wrong doing for... for his other friends." Her lip trembled. "His blood alcohol content was well below the legal limit, and there was nothing to indicate that he was driving recklessly."

"Wasn't it raining that night?" Apollo asked.

Athena remembered something to that effect as well. Wasn't that the day she found the tiny bullet on her desk?

"Yes. He must have hydroplaned."

"Makes sense. But then, the murder charge is for...?" Apollo trailed off.

"Aly Ford, yes. The one they found murdered in the woods."

"How?" Athena blurted out. "Caden was found unconscious and in life-threatening condition. He wouldn't have even been able to get out of the car, much less shoot someone."

Ms. Barrow wrung her hands together. Apollo shot her another look, and she remained silent. Simon was right. She wasn't handling this well at all.

Maybe...

"The prosecutor's office didn't tell me why they decided to charge him," Caden's mother said eventually, punctuated by shaking breaths. "But I imagine they found evidence that she was shot before the car accident happened."

Athena processed this.

"How well did your son know the victim?" Apollo asked, using a gentle voice. It didn't match him at all, and Athena was astonished he was even capable of such a thing. He must have practiced.

Ms. Barrow sighed. "I never approved of the two of them."

Apollo frowned. "Excuse me?"

The older woman picked at the leather with her fingers. Her nails were acrylic, Athena noticed, filed to flat and clean edges. "My son turned 31 last month."

"Okay..." Apollo said slowly. "I'm sorry, but I don't follow."

"Aly is - was - our next door neighbor. She's only 20 years old."

 _A year older than me?_ The only emotions Athena heard in this woman's voice were dark: heady feelings that could only be destructive.

"Were...?" Athena picked her words carefully. "They were involved, I suppose?"

"I don't know for certain. But they have been close ever since she moved in the neighborhood. Which was... fifteen years ago? I'm not sure."

Athena tasted salt. She wished she had grabbed a glass of water for herself.

"They've never been inappropriate, or anything," Ms. Barrow hastened to say. "I didn't mean... Goodness." She hung her head. "That came out all wrong. Aly was a wonderful girl. And nothing untoward happened, not until she..."

"Became legal?" Apollo offered.

"Like I said, I don't have any proof." She looked at the far wall, away from the two of them. "I shouldn't have said anything," she said again.

Athena changed the subject. "Do you know anything about her? Aly?" The word seemed foreign on her tongue, even though she heard Caden refer to her as that name before. Afterwards, her acquaintance with the victim was purely academic. It was both a relief and a curse to hear about her in this kind of way. It meant that Athena had to see her as human.

She wasn't used to that part of the job yet.

"Oh yes, she was very bright." Ms. Barrow sat back in her seat. "Even as a child, her intelligence was undeniable. High IQ. She loved science. Particularly robotics."

Athena sat up straighter. "Robots?" she echoed.

"Yes. She and Caden hit it off right away. Yes, it was fifteen years ago. I remember Caden was over fifteen when he first met Aly. She was five, then. He was always so gentle with her, and they talked for ages, even though they had to be so different." She sighed. "Why did that have to change?"

"I'm a little more interested in the robotics thing," Apollo said, and Athena silently agreed with him. "Did she ever work at the Space Center as she got older, like Caden?"

Caden's mother shook her head. "Not to my knowledge. That was something she abandoned about a decade ago. She was studying chemistry... before..." She put her forehead in her hand.

"I know this is hard," Athena said.

"If you want to know more about Aly, you will have to ask her family," Ms. Barrow said with finality. Athena could clearly hear the edge in her voice, and from Apollo's raised eyebrows, she knew it was distinctive enough for him to hear it too.

"Okay," Apollo said with a casualness that Athena knew he didn't feel.

"Will you accept the case?"

Apollo looked at her. "I'm leaving this up to you, Athena."

Athena was quiet for a moment. "Fifteen years," she murmured at last, running her hands down her ponytail. There was no question that this whole case gave her misgivings. But at the same time, she knew the facts of the case. She didn't know how Caden could manage to kill this girl, much less one he knew and deeply cared about for so long.

She nodded. "I'll do it."

Athena knew she made the right choice the moment the older woman's face crumpled, the lines giving way to relief and sorrow. "Thank you," Sonya Barrow whispered, bowing her head. "Thank you."

The stark, genuine chords strummed her ears. It was unmistakable. This woman cared deeply about her son, even if she didn't approve of Aly.

"I have one last question, Ms. Barrow." Athena said gently. "And I need an honest answer from you."

Caden's mother's eyes were wary.

Athena took a deep breath. "Do you have any idea who could have done this? Who killed her?"

She didn't speak for a moment. Athena felt a moment of desperation.

"Any lead at all could help," Apollo added.

"You can call me Sonya, first of all," she said. "I can't think of anything at the moment. Aly was a sweet girl. She didn't have many enemies."

The sound in Athena's ears was unique.

"But if I think of anything, I'll give you a call," Sonya added, standing up from her chair. "I'll be in contact anyway, naturally."

"Of course," Athena said, and she sounded far away even to herself. She gave Caden's mother a quick smile that hopefully offset it.

"I'll take my leave, then." She made for the door. "Again, thank you."

"It's our pleasure," Apollo said, and he sounded off kilter as well.

The moment she left, Apollo turned to Athena. "Did you hear discord?"

"Did your bracelet go off?"

They stared at each other for a moment, and then laughed. Athena put her hands on her cheeks, blowing out a puff of air.

Apollo stared at his wrist. "I felt uneasy the entire time, but my bracelet didn't detect anything. It was the weirdest thing. Usually when I feel like that, there's at least some indication."

Athena nodded. "Same for me. I didn't hear anything that was straight up discord, but it sounded so stunted. If I had to phrase it..." she paused for a moment. "I would describe it as hesitation."

"Well, I think we can take that to mean she was telling the truth," Apollo said. "And she doesn't think Caden murdered Alexandra Ford."

"Right."

"Well, as your co-counsel, my advice would be going to the scene."

Athena thought of the evidence folder in her desk. She supposed she could show it to Apollo, see his take so much faster. But what if he could find something at the scene, even though it was days old? She only had her own eyes and Simon's to go off of.

"Athena?"

Athena grinned at him. " _Ándale_!" She pointed at the door. "I'll drive. I brought my car today."

The misgiving stayed in Apollo's eyes, but he laughed. "That's a first."

* * *

"What are you doing?"

They had already picked through the woods. Athena drove the two of them to the Space Center, since there was no place to park at the scene of the accident, much less where the body was found. Once they arrived, however, Apollo passed where Alexandra was found and straight towards the scene of the accident instead.

"You said that you and Simon examined the scene of the murder pretty carefully, right?" Apollo didn't slow his pace, but he was already out of breath. Athena could jog past him easily, if she wanted to.

"Yeah, I guess," Athena said. "He even found dried blood on a tree. In an odd spot."

He looked at her for a moment. "Of course he did. But anyway, that's my point. It doesn't look like the accident was examined too carefully."

"The body _is_ kind of a bigger deal," Athena said, but she still mulled over his point. "There was no indication that this was anything but an accident."

"And I believe that. Regardless, there's no harm in looking."

She couldn't argue with him.

They picked through the grass together. Behind the yellow tape, the scene was mostly empty. They did hear a familiar sung tune though, one that had both of them rolling their eyes.

" _No motive... no crime. No motive... no crime."_

Dick Gumshoe, true to form, marched around the perimeter of the yellow tape. Apollo slowed to a halt as well as Athena, and watched him go for a while. From what they both heard from their boss, it was for the best to let this song and dance, literally, to take its course.

" _Every case is gonna be airtight... every case is gonna be airtight..."_

He stopped when he started to pass them, and then stared at them with wide, unblinking eyes. Athena and Apollo stared at him back, and Athena was too bemused to fidget from the awkward situation.

"How long have you two been standing there?"

Apollo's response was automatic, but Athena could hear a bubble of laughter deep inside his voice. "We just got here."

"Oh." He scratched behind his head. "Good. Whatcha two doing here?"

Athena ducked under the yellow tape, and Apollo followed her. She faced Gumshoe as Apollo tiptoed past him. "How's Maggey?"

"She's good. She knocked over a vase this morning, cut up both of us pretty good, but otherwise she's great." Gumshoe lifted a bandaged hand. "Oh well, worse things have happened. Hey!" He whirled towards Apollo, who knelt near a scattering of broken glass. "What are you doing?"

To Apollo's credit, he didn't even flinch. Athena picked her way towards him, careful to not step on anything. She didn't know if glass from windshields were sharp enough to cut through her shoes.

Gumshoe rounded on her. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Investigating," she replied.

"Oh, okay." Gumshoe paused, and then his eyes narrowed. "Wait..."

Athena grinned at him. "Airtight, right? Want to help us?"

"You said you didn't hear anything!" Regardless, he sighed. "I guess it's not part of the murder investigation. As long as you don't touch or move anything around."

"It's not like I would want to," Apollo piped up. "There's so much glass."

Athena beamed at Gumshoe. "Thank you," she said. "Do you have any sort of report for us?"

"Other than autopsy reports on the passengers? No." Gumshoe rolled his weight to his toes before going back to the balls of his feet. "I don't suppose you need copies of those?"

"Athena, don't you have those on Widget?"

"Yup."

It was like kicking a puppy. Athena bit back a sigh at the forlorn look on Gumshoe's face. "Well, Apollo lives in the Stone Age, so it might not be a bad idea to give him copies. Just in case."

"Hey!"

Athena mouthed 'Sorry' to her colleague as Gumshoe handed him three autopsy reports. "Don't even ask for the one on that poor girl in the woods, though," he said.

"Are they not done with her yet?" Apollo asked.

Gumshoe sighed. "No, I just don't have it. They want me working this scene and the arson scene at the Space Center."

Athena frowned. "But you're the senior homicide detective."

"I know! That's what I said." Gumshoe stomped his foot, which was adorably contradictory that Athena had to press her knuckles into her mouth to keep from giggling. "But they wouldn't listen."

"They being...?" Athena spared a glance towards Apollo. He was shifting through something in the grass. She maneuvered herself so the detective would have a harder time seeing what he was doing.

"The prosecutor for the case, and Mr. Edgeworth said he was too busy when I said something. Which is what he always does." He sighed. "I'm sorry to complain."

"No, it's quite alright. It sounds frustrating." Athena glanced over her shoulder. Apollo was standing up and brushing off his pants. She thought for a moment. "Do you happen to know who the prosecutor is?"

"I don't know his name. Black-squirrel or something like that. He's relatively new."

Athena blinked. "You mean Blackquill?"

"That's it! Anyway, I'm not sure about the details on the Ford girl. If you want to know more, ask him or Ema."

"Alright, thank you for your help."

"Athena, I've seen what I need to see," Apollo said, and he joined the two of them. "Do you want to take a look at the other places?"

"Sure!" Athena turned to shake Gumshoe's hand, and Apollo followed suit. "We'll be heading out, then. Thanks for letting us look around, Detective."

He blinked. He probably forgot about Apollo looking around. "Hey, do you know this prosecutor?"

Athena stilled. She wasn't surprised that Simon took on this case. In fact, she expected it. But she avoided thinking about him ever since the awkward incident in her apartment yesterday, and she didn't expect someone outside the office to mention him. "Why?"

"There are other people who can look over these two scenes," he said sheepishly. "I'm a homicide detective."

Athena thought for a moment. She doubted she would see Simon before the trial's beginning. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Athena pulled into her usual parking spot at the Space Center and yanked her keys out of the ignition. The keys clattered in her hand as she stared at the main door. She really, _really_ hoped Apollo wouldn't ask to go inside. She didn't want to risk running into Aura. Or talking with her. She knew it was a fault of hers, avoiding confrontation at all costs, but after yesterday...

"Who would set that part of the Space Center on fire?" Apollo scratched the back of his head. "It's pure metal. If they wanted to burn the place down, that wouldn't be the place to do it."

"That's one of the mysteries," Athena replied. "We found traces of paint thinner there, though, so it definitely wasn't an accident."

"And could be done by the average person," Apollo mused. "Paint thinner is great for arson because of how accessible it is."

Athena wouldn't know, as she hadn't ever needed paint thinner, but she believed him.

"Well, let's get going." Apollo got out of the car, and Athena took a minute to follow him. She envied Apollo's linear thinking and calmness here. She felt so scatterbrained while he went from one thing to the next, as if it were easy. She broke into a jog until she caught up with him.

"You alright?" Apollo asked.

"Yup."

"Good."

They reached the area, and Apollo frowned. "Wow. The smell is super faint."

Athena smiled. "Yeah. I didn't even notice. Simon had to tell me to check it again."

Apollo thought for a moment. "Doesn't that imply that the fire was burning for a while before it went out?"

Athena's smile faded. "I guess? Maybe it went out naturally. It was late at night."

"Then it's a miracle it didn't spread to the woods."

Athena shrugged, but she was glad she had Apollo along. When it came down to it, they still worked well as a team. "It did rain recently. But you're right." The more she heard, the less she liked. It seemed like the Space Center escaped more because of luck rather than the doing of other people. She hated that.

A thought struck her. "Couldn't it also mean that they didn't use a lot of it, too?"

"I doubt it. They would need a lot for the Space Center."

Athena thought about it. The weird location, the utter failure of it all, the fact that it didn't spread very far... "Maybe the Space Center wasn't the target," she said. "Maybe it was an object. Something outside it that the perpetrator wanted to destroy."

Apollo was scribbling notes before she finished speaking. "That's a good call," he said. "We can look into that. So far, though, no proof that this was linked to the accident or Aly- wait a minute."

Athena leaned toward him, and tried to follow his line of vision. She didn't see anything, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Her ears were her strong point, not her eyes, and that was part of the reason Apollo was so handy to have around. Simon had similar, uncanny vision, but they didn't examine this area too closely. "What do you see?"

"Is that glass?"

Athena started, and scrutinized the area further. Apollo leaned towards the charred grass and poked his finger into it. He immediately winced.

"Ow."

"Well, don't touch it without gloves!" Athena dropped to her knees to his side. "Where-oh."

Suddenly, she could see light reflecting in the blackened area. She looked closely. "It's super small."

"Glass shards often are." Apollo lifted his finger and looked at it. The cut was small, but glass always made the slightest of wounds bleed like crazy.

"Let me." Athena pulled the glove she used for Widget off and used it as protection to pick up the piece of glass. Apollo had a bag, and they dropped the sliver of glass inside.

"Do you see anything else?" Athena sat back on her heels. "With that crazy x-ray vision of yours?"

"It's not x-ray, Athena," Apollo replied dryly. "But no, I don't. Whatever used to be here, it isn't here anymore. Thanks to our arsonist."

Athena didn't think there were crime scenes more frustrating than arson ones. She hoped she wouldn't be proven wrong. Every bad feeling she had for this case was magnified. She thought about Aly: the micro tears in her shirt, the gash in her thigh, the glass embedded in her hair.

"Can I hold on to this?"

Apollo gave her a weird look. "Yeah, but why?"

Athena bit her lip. "I want Ema to take a look at it. She would have a field day with it, anyway. We all know that."

Apollo chuckled under his breath. "You're not wrong." He handed her the little bag. "Just let me know what she says about it."

"Of course." Athena frowned at the bag. It was a tiny sliver shaped like a dagger. She wondered if that was significant in any way.

"Well, I think I'm finished looking." Apollo straightened up. "Those are the only scenes, right?"

"Other than where Alexandra was found, yes." Athena thought for a moment. "Do you want to go there?"

Apollo sighed. "I doubt we could even get close, with a new homicide charge. The police are probably not done investigating the scene. But we can try."

Athena lead the way to where Aly was found, but Apollo was right. The area was thick with police officers, scurrying around. They were probably looking for my clues to strengthen the prosecution's case, since the scene was already found several days before.

"I suppose you were right," Athena said.

Apollo shrugged. "It's not a big deal. We can always try to come back later today, if need be."

Athena scanned the area, ignoring her partner for a moment. She found who she was looking for, with his long hair and black surcoat.

 _Simon._

Instead of the odd feelings that Athena had started to associate with seeing him, her throat tightened and her stomach dropped. With his back facing her, he talked with an officer on the scene. He was far enough away that even Athena's keen sense of hearing couldn't pick him up.

"We should go," she said tersely.

Apollo stared at her. "You don't want to talk with the prosecutor?"

She didn't reply right away, staring at his back as if that alone could turn him around. She wondered if she was overreacting, that Simon did have some legitimate reason for leaving so suddenly. That it wasn't because of her, or how they behaved. Athena had analyzed every detail of their encounter overnight, and her only conclusion was that she should force the whole ordeal out of her mind. It wasn't worth it.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he turned around at that moment. She was so startled she didn't move for a moment, staring back at him with her eyes so wide she could feel them water. Her mouth slightly parted. His own instantly narrowed, and he turned his face to the side.

"Nope," Athena said. "Not even a little. Let's go."

Apollo trotted after her as she spun on her heel and began to leave. "Do you even realize how confusing you are these days? Weren't you guys becoming friends again?"

Athena bit back the _'apparently not'_ sitting on her tongue. She sighed, combing a hand over her face. "I don't know," she said. "I have no idea what's going on anymore."

"Well, I was going to ask if we could talk to Aura," Apollo said, "but I can leave that for tomorrow. You look tired."

That much was true. Athena's sleepless night was beginning to catch up with her. School had given her plenty of opportunity to burn the candle at both ends, and she had energy to spare, but even she had her limits. "A little," she admitted, and once again, she was grateful her colleague couldn't hear emotions. The relief in her at not having to deal with Aura today was stark. She checked her phone, and saw no missed calls.

Definitely relieved.

"Maybe you should speak with him," Apollo suggested as they reached her car. "Before this case truly gets underway."

She knew he was right, but Athena didn't want to think about it. She didn't reply.

"It would probably be for the best," Apollo said, and Athena heard mirth in his voice. She turned to him, eyebrow raised. "He probably would want to hear the whole _Black-squirrel_ thing from you."

Athena opened her door and plopped herself in her seat, flushing as she did so. "Get in the freaking car, Apollo."

He just chuckled quietly as he followed instructions and buckled in.

* * *

After Athena dropped Apollo off at the office, she hesitated at her desk for a moment. She had put off this particular mystery for long enough.

"Hey Apollo, can you give me another one of those zip lock bags?"

She used her glove again to pick up the mystery bullet, still pristine, and dropped it into the bag. "I'm going to go see Ema for a bit. Is that okay?"

"We have to go talk to Caden eventually," he replied. "Is he still in the hospital?"

"I think so. His injuries are extensive," Athena replied. "And I know. I just need to take care of this real fast. I shouldn't be more than half an hour."

"Alright. I'll make some phone calls, in the meantime."

Athena was curious what calls he had to make, and more importantly, to _who_ , but that just motivated her to see Ema and complete her visit all the faster. She took the bullet and the tiny glass shard and got back into her car.

 _I've been driving a lot,_ she thought to herself. She wasn't a huge fan. Her gas light was already on and the muscles in her legs itched for more movement. She would probably be back to biking after the case was over. Two or three days. She could do that. Hopefully.

She didn't understand how prosecutors did it, in their fancy cars. Of course, her thoughts went to Simon as a result: the one exception, who bought a car that was sleek but unassuming. Black, but no notable characteristics otherwise. It fit him to a T, naturally, but Athena's jaw tightened as she weaved through the town traffic. It was the first time she had been alone ever since the very short time in the office that morning, and she couldn't hold back her thoughts. Particularly of the moment he left her apartment, leaving in such a hurry that it was like it burned him to even touch her.

She was going ten miles over the speed limit.

Athena shook her head hard enough that she felt the earring her mother gave her hit the skin of her neck, and she rolled to a stop at a red light. _Enough. There's a reason you're trying to not think of him._ But the other moments came around anyway. The softer moments, the ones she would have reassessed to oblivion if he didn't leave like that.

 _You could have just thrown it away._

 _Never._

When did he learn to so effortlessly permeate her thoughts?

When Athena made it to the police station, it was almost a relief. She didn't much want to put up with Ema these days; she was in the process of retaking her tests to become a forensic investigator. That was all well and good, and the entire office supported her. But Ema's stress levels were high, on top of her bitter attitude. She was just as unpredictable as a certain prosecutor who wouldn't leave her brain.

She was greeted the moment she walked in the door. The chief of detectives typed away busily on his computer, but Athena didn't think for a second it was regarding work. A light smile tugged on his lips, and he was surrounded by piles of untouched paperwork.

"Are you looking for Detective Gumshoe?"

Athena grinned, but he didn't see her. Naturally. "No, actually. Ema Skye."

He snorted. "Who knows these days with that girl? She might be somewhere near the morgue... or the various testing stations."

Athena sighed. She didn't have time to spare for an elaborate search, but maybe someone else would help her. "Alright. Thanks, anyway."

She had started off towards the hallway too fast for him to reply. If he did. His voice suggested he was getting more and more distracted by... whatever he was doing.

Luckily for her, Ema's tendency to yell when she was frustrated made her easy to find. "What do you mean, the autopsy is proving difficult?"

Athena broke into a jog to try and trail her voice.

"The trial begins tomorrow! We need a finalized autopsy report or the prosecution will have our heads- oh. Hi, Athena."

"Why is Simon going to kill you now?" Athena asked, not even out of breath.

Ema sighed, and then turned her glare towards the forensic technician. Athena couldn't find it in herself to feel guilty.

"Do you know how awkward it is to have the defense and the prosecution in cahoots?" She threw her arms up in the air, like the matter was the poor man's fault.

The lights were so bright that Athena had to squint to avoid a headache. The white tile speckled with black and the vanilla washed walls didn't do much to help that fact. An odd medley of microscopes, towels, and scalpels caught her eyes on the counter tops.

"The victim has so many various wounds..."

It was then Athena found the biohazard trashcan, and she saw a towel dotted with blood. She saw Aly's torn up body behind her eyes. She flinched and tried to catch Ema's attention.

"What kind of excuse is that?"

"It's just-"

"Ema," Athena said. It didn't work. She tried a different tactic. "Detective Skye."

Ema hated the title so much that it caught her attention immediately, just like Athena hoped. "What?" she snapped. "I can't tell you anything. You know that whole routine."

"Even if it's not related to Alexandra Ford?" Athena held up her two plastic baggies. "I just need you to check these things out, that's all."

Ema paused for a moment. Athena could hear her heart rate accelerate, and almost her weighing the pros and cons in her head. She could never resist the call of forensics.

"How long will it take?"

"Not long at all."

Ema sighed again, but it didn't fool Athena for a minute. She could see the sparkle in the detective's eye as she stretched out her hand. "Gimme."

Athena complied.

"What are they?"

Athena hid a snort behind her hand. Of course she agreed before even knowing what they were. "One's a bullet I found on my desk."

"What?"

"That's what I said."

Ema gave the bullet a good long look. "What do you want to know about it?"

"I don't know," Athena said. "I don't know what you can do about a bullet's origin..."

"Nothing. Bullets can come from anywhere."

"I figured." Athena took in a deep breath. "But if you do find anything odd, I'd appreciate if you would tell me. It's more of a gut feeling than anything else."

Ema continued to stare at it, moving the bag as if changes in the light would tell her anything different. After a while, Athena thought she was going to refuse.

"Fine," she said at last. "And the other thing?"

"That is a glass shard that Apollo found near the arson site at the Space Center."

Ema looked up sharply. "That's not entirely unrelated."

Athena sighed. "I know, but I figured you could at least take a look at it. If it turns out to be related, fine, don't tell us, but it might be worth it on your end."

Ema squinted her eyes like Athena did when she first walked into the room. The forensic scientist behind them cleared his throat, but she ignored him. Athena didn't quite get the logic behind his endeavor. If it were her, she would welcome any chance of reprieve from an envious, raging Ema Skye.

"I don't believe you," Ema said, "but okay. I'll get it checked out."

"Thanks, Ema. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Athena gave a start. The sudden graciousness in Ema's tone took her by surprise, and Ema seemed to notice. She let out another sigh, and took out her bag of Snackoos. Athena let her munch on a few.

"You can stop looking at me like that," Ema mumbled. "It's just nice having someone not jump down my throat, that's all."

Athena left a few minutes after that, when the detective and the technician dissolved into another argument. She walked down the hallway and out of the main room with minimal fuss, although the Chief Detective's giggling disturbed her greatly. Someone should probably say something, she thought, but she already had her nose in the Space Center's business already. The man had worked there for decades, anyway.

Athena felt a buzz in her bag as she plopped in her car. She dug out her phone and checked it; the most recent text was from Junie.

 _So, how is Simon?_ The text was accompanied by a winking face.

Athena groaned. She hit the back of her head on the headrest, and closed her eyes. How was she supposed to respond to _that_? Weird things happened and then he ran away?

No, she didn't exactly need Junie's help to dissect it. She frowned as she noticed that she had another text from Apollo, and opened it to read.

" _Ay mi dio_!"

She had yelled loudly enough that she got a few weird looks from police officers heading inside the department, even though her car doors were closed and the windows rolled up. She flushed, but she reread the text again.

 _Just got off the phone with Aura. She said some... interesting things. We need to talk._

Great. Just great.

Athena knew she had problems with confrontation. She tended to turn into a bumbling mess, and that was if she walked into it at all. If she could avoid it, she did, and that was what she had been doing the entire day. She avoided even thinking about Simon and Aura Blackquill if she could help it today, but these constant reminders popping through the day...

She didn't know why she was surprised. The Blackquills had been entwined with her life since she was eleven years old. Probably even longer than that.

It was aggravating.

After a few seconds of thoughts, she pulled her car into reverse and made her way back on the main streets. She knew exactly where she needed to go. And it sure as heck wasn't the office.

* * *

Before she could think any more about it and maybe psyche herself out of this entire ordeal, Athena gave three raps on Simon's front door.

She found herself wishing that she didn't. She didn't even know if he was home. Maybe he wouldn't open the front door. Maybe he would explode at _her_ first. Maybe...

The door opened, halting her thoughts. It reminded her of her first visit, where they didn't quite know what to do with each other. But the air was definitely different this time. It was charged, imbalanced. Simon didn't even look a little surprised to see her, but his jaw set and the tendons in his neck strained.

"What can I do for you this time?" he said with a sort of dry irony that did nothing to soothe her mood. If anything, it just made her grit her teeth more. She forced herself to let out a breath before replying.

"I have a bone to pick with you," she said bluntly, sounding with more bravado than she felt. In fact, on the inside, she flinched from her choice of words and could only hope it didn't show. "Can I come in?"

It occurred to her that her request probably came a bit belated, but to her surprise, Simon stepped to the side to make room for her. She stepped inside, but didn't kick off her shoes or enter the living room. He shut the door behind her.

That was about as far as his courtesies extended. He didn't say anything further to her, didn't even gesture for her to speak. Granted, with her combative choice of words, it was a miracle that he even let her in his house. But that thought did nothing to soothe her nerves. She opened her mouth, wanting to get to the point, but...

"Detective Gumshoe told me that you stuck him on the car accident instead of the murder scene."

He snorted. "That's why you came?"

Athena blew out air in frustration. Gumshoe had little to do with why she came here.

"He's a homicide detective, Simon," she said. "Not accident detail. That scene hardly needs to be guarded by more than police, anyway."

"I have my reasons," he said in a level tone, although Athena still heard the threads of abrasive emotion in his voice. Frustration. Exasperation. Even bewilderment. "None of which I need to explain to you."

"I know you probably think he's an idiot, and he kind of is, but he's been with the force for years." Athena crossed her arms. "There's nothing he takes more seriously than investigations."

Simon stared at her. "That's a lovely sentiment," he said in a low voice that did nothing to hide his sarcasm, "but this kind of case needs a lot better than that."

Athena was silent. They hadn't assigned a replacement detective to him yet. She took in a deep breath. "It's not just feelings," she protested. "He has the experience to deal with this case."

He stuck one of Taka's feathers in his mouth, rolling it to the far side. "Why do you care, anyway?"

Athena opened her mouth, and then closed it. Gumshoe did ask her to come, but she'd be lying if that was the real reason. _Not just feelings_. The irony was a bit much for her, and she could only imagine what Simon thought at this point. She flushed.

"Like I just stated, I have my reasons," he said, and his tone was now dismissive. "This isn't an ordinary murder scene, if you haven't noticed. Now, is that all?"

A lance of fury shredded through her chest, leaving an uncomfortable tightness in its wake. "Is there a reason you're being such a jerk?" she asked through gritted teeth.

His sharp intake of breath was the only real reaction that betrayed him. His pupils dilated to their normal size so fast that Athena thought she might have imagined the sudden contraction. He sighed, and looked away from her. "This is how I always am, Athena."

She bit back her protest. She could think back to eight years ago all she liked, but she knew things weren't that simple anymore. She tried to tell him as much, right? Athena wanted to rest her temples in her hands, pinch the bridge of her nose, flick her earring, just fidget in general. But now wasn't the time to show weakness.

"I'm not wrong that it looks odd," Athena said, trying her best to sound levelheaded and calm. She wasn't succeeding all that well. "Has the Chief Prosecutor said anything about it? About how you're leaving the case to someone who doesn't even want to be a detective and-"

"Athena-"

She ignored the warning tone in his voice and plowed ahead. "...and ostracized a senior detective?"

"I told you, and this is the third time, that I have my reasons," Simon said. "And considering you are the defense attorney on this case, I cannot tell you what they are. Not that I feel inclined to."

Athena flushed. "It's not me being unreasonable," she protested, although that didn't feel true. "If the detective felt the need to complain to me, he's going to complain to Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth too."

Simon started, and then sighed. "For the love of..."

She was quiet for a moment.

"I was worried about this," he said, and now he avoided her eyes on purpose. "We are too intertwined. I cannot do my job if everyone thinks if we are cohorts, and for all they know, they're right."

Athena let out a frustrated breath. "There is no rule saying we can't be friends, Simon." She put extra emphasis on the word _friends_. "Besides, we can't be cohorts if you keep things from me."

"You know too much as is."

Athena looked up at the ceiling, and let out a groan loud enough for Simon to look back at her. "Well, that's a problem," she said. "Considering I'm the defense attorney for this _case_."

"A poor decision."

It was the first time this conversation - hell, it was the first time ever since they started interacting again - that Athena felt hurt by what he said. Angry, sure, even frustrated or annoyed, but never hurt. She swallowed, trying to compose herself.

"What about you?" she said quietly. "Aren't you taking on too much?"

Simon gave her a look. "I'm fine."

"So you say, but I told you. I know when you're lying to me." Athena's voice rose. "You're not sleeping, I can tell. Half of what you say these days has discord. I'm not an idiot, Simon."

He gave her a tight smile. "It's none of your-"

"How is the Phantom none of my concern?"

Her outburst sent them both into silence. What little color Simon had started to regain in his face had drained from it, and Athena found herself out of breath. She didn't break eye contact with him, no matter how much she wanted to, and when he looked away, it was a bitter victory.

"Who informed you?" he asked at last.

Athena shrunk back a little from his icy tone, but she held her ground. "Mr. Wright," she replied. "He thought I should know."

Simon snorted. "Clearly, he does not understand his own disciple as well as I do. Now you will want everything to do with him. No matter the danger."

Athena's mouth dropped open. "Do you really think that?" she whispered, and it wasn't until she held her elbow in her right hand she realized she was shaking. "Simon, I want _nothing_ to do with him."

"What?"

It was a truth that she didn't know until she said it out loud. But what she saw just from talking about him proved it: not Simon's apartment, mostly empty and reflecting her own, but a metal floor with a bench. A handkerchief. Robotic arms. A katana standing upright from a dead body. And blood. So much blood.

Athena had to leave. Now.

"This was a bad idea," she said, heading towards the door. Her voice was stiff and robotic. "I'm sorry to bother you."

She didn't expect Simon to say anything, to call after her. But she heard two footsteps, and she stopped at their sound. He didn't come any closer.

"I don't know what you wanted from me, Athena." Her lower lip trembled at heaviness in his voice. Yes, she knew what that emotion was. Exhaustion was one of the most vulnerable states a person could have. She knew it all too well.

She opened the door. "Neither do I."

* * *

TBC

 _Ándale - Let's go in Spanish_

 _Ay mi dio - Oh my God in Spanish_

 _Misunderstandings abound!_

 _I want to thank the Guest reviewer from last chapter. Your review left me smiling for hours. Thank you!_


	9. Chapter 9

Athena never had any desire to throw her cell phone out of the car window while said car was moving, aside from technical issues. But when Apollo's name flashed on her caller ID as it vibrated shamelessly on her car seat, the temptation was undeniable.

Seriously, did people know how to leave her _alone_ , especially when she needed to think? Athena let out an audible growl as she stopped in her old parking spot.

"What?!" She yelled into the phone. "I'm right outside!"

"Holy cow, can you take it down a peg or two?" Apollo's voice echoed, and Athena had the presence of mind to frown. The office didn't echo like that.

"I got your text," she said, like that helped matters.

"We have more pressing matters at hand. I got a call from Ms. Barrow."

Athena frowned. "Why didn't she call me? Aren't I the lead on this case?"

"She did, Athena."

Athena had a momentary double-take, and then she left the dialpad screen to check her phone. One missed call and a voicemail. Well then. She probably missed it while talking with Simon.

"Oi," she muttered. "Of course."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm sorry about that. Where are you, then?"

Apollo sighed. "At the hospital. I thought Caden was in stable condition?"

"He was," Athena said. "What happened?"

"Apparently, he's suffering a setback. He's unconscious again, there are a lot of nurses and the doctors had to re-stabilize him."

Athena clenched her eyes closed. That was just what they needed. "Do I need to head over there?"

"No, there's not much we can do at this point. I'm going to head back now." Apollo didn't hang up, and she could still hear his breathing. "Athena, did you go see Blackquill?"

Athena started. "Why do you ask?"

"He's here too, and it looks like someone pissed in his oatmeal this morning." She could practically hear him scratching the back of his neck. "Well, more than usual. And granted, the person he's prosecuting is back in the ICU, but still..."

Athena shook her head, forgetting for a moment Apollo couldn't see her. "I'm sorry about all of this, Apollo. Can I explain when you get back?" She doubted all the time in the world would give her a way to explain it, but she certainly didn't want to do it over the phone.

"Okay, yeah. Sure." Despite the tense nature of his words, his voice softened. "We might have one more day to investigate, though. We can't hold a trial for someone who isn't conscious."

Athena didn't see this as much of a bright side. Apollo could tell, because he hung up the phone shortly afterwards. She made her way inside the office and sat at her desk, doing nothing, for several minutes. Hesitating, she took out what Aura found on the victim. Ema said the report wasn't finalized. Why wasn't it? It was ridiculously detailed as is, considering Aly's body was only found the day before.

She was still flipping through its pages when Apollo walked back into the office. He already looked tired from the day's events.

"Is that the autopsy report Aura was talking about?"

He was too astute for his own good. "Yup," Athena replied, trying for nonchalance. "Any change in Caden's condition?"

"Like I said, they have him stabilized again, but he'll stay in the ICU this time until the doctors are sure he won't relapse." Apollo scratched the back of his neck. "Um, Athena, this office has a precedence for using illegal evidence in a trial, and it didn't end well for anyone..."

Athena gave him an odd look. "I know Mr. Wright's history, Apollo." She blew out a huff of air. "Aura just risked a lot to get this information to us. I figure we can at least go in knowing what we're talking about. Detectives leaking information isn't a new one."

Apollo stared at it. "Okay. I'll admit I'm curious."

He settled down next to her as she continued to leaf through its pages. Apollo swore under his breath, and Athena couldn't blame him. She could feel shock settle into her veins each time she looked at pictures of her body.

"What on earth happened to her?"

"According to the report, a lot of this is postmortem." Athena squinted at the text. "So she was dead before most of her wounds happened, including that gash on her leg."

"Thank God," Apollo muttered. "Maybe the pain she suffered was minimal."

"I hope so."

Apollo frowned as she continued to leaf through its pages. "This is odd, through. The report is extremely vague. Which wounds were before death, if any? Exact time of death?"

"Ema mentioned that they were having trouble finalizing the autopsy report before the trial," Athena replied. "I imagine this is a rough draft."

"Well, that makes me feel better," Apollo said. "Less likely we'll get caught with this copy. But still, I hate not having the information on hand."

"We rarely do."

"Yeah, and it's getting old." Apollo folded his hands behind his head, but then he straightened in his chair. "Hey, where did Mr. Wright go?"

Athena lifted her head and looked toward their boss's empty desk. "I don't even remember him leaving," she said. "But he didn't say anything when we were taking Ms. Barrow's case, now that I think about it."

"How did he get around us?" But Apollo seemed to know the answer. "It must be the Phantom, then. He didn't seem to want to trouble us with it more than he had to."

So her boss told Apollo about it, too. It didn't surprise her, but it did take her back to that stupid conversation she had with Simon. She swallowed.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Athena closed the autopsy report. "If most of Aly's wounds happened after she was killed, then we might have a problem."

Apollo opened his mouth, but then groaned and slapped his forehead into his hand. "Her cuts and gashes are consistent with glass. If she was shot, and then put in the car before the accident... Caden could have committed the murder." His forehead creased. "But at the same time, if we accept that line of thinking, who took her body out of a car wreck and put it in the woods? And why?"

Athena didn't have an answer to that. "That will likely be our opening in court. If we can get answers." She leaned back into her chair. "Granted, we can't even talk to our client, so that's... awesome."

Apollo nodded. "This one is a doozy, that's for sure. And I bet your dear prosecutor has some damning evidence that will be almost impossible to turn around."

"Don't call him that."

Apollo's glance broke under Athena's skin. She flinched and looked away.

"I'm not going to even ask," Apollo said at last, folding his arms. "It has you pretty torn up, I can tell, and I'm not sure I want to know anyway. But you need to buck up, Athena. He's the opposition tomorrow, not a friend."

Athena found herself bristling, even though he made his words as gentle as he could. She had to force herself to calm down; she knew he was just trying to help, but Apollo didn't understand the nature of their relationship. There was a reason she asked Edgeworth for this favor. She needed Simon's support. She could do anything with him near her.

Right?

A whisper of doubt kept her silent.

"Athena, did you hear me?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah, I did."

They sat in silence for a moment. Athena racked her mind for what to do next. She couldn't talk to Simon, or her boss... she was at a bit of a loss. It was in this loss that inspiration struck. She grinned to herself. She never could keep still.

"I have an idea," Athena said suddenly.

Apollo looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Has anyone looked at Caden's car yet?"

* * *

After meeting the junkyard manager, Athena decided this man had to meet Detective Gumshoe. Maybe he needed a protege, or something.

"Um... a car?"

"You should have received a wrecked car a few days ago," Athena explained for the umpteenth time. "The driver was charged with murder, and we need to investigate it."

"I guess that should be okay," he said. "I mean, don't cut yourself on the metal. It's dangerous, yeah? That thing is a scrap heap at best. Maybe you should let a lawyer know before you go look at it."

"We are lawyers," Apollo pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. You did say that..."

"Hoyt?" A man's voice sounded from behind him. "I can take them back there, if you want. Keep an eye on 'em."

The relief on the older man's face appeared stark as the colors in a sunset. "That's a good idea. Thank you." He turned to Athena and Apollo. "I assume the two of you don't have a problem with that?"

"None at all!" Athena held out her hand. "And you are...?"

"Adam." He had a firm handshake, but Athena barely stopped herself from recoiling. Dirt came off in crumbles on his arms and hands, and a patchwork of grime, grease, and ground covered the rest of him. His jeans were no longer blue except near the pockets and zipper, and his white shirt belonged in the trash. Did he think that part through?

"I'm sorry about him, there." Adam nodded towards Hoyt, who had walked back into his office and shut himself away from the grease and rust. "He's a good man, just not all there. He's been working this joint for decades."

Athena began to notice the intelligence behind his dark eyes, and his shrewd smile. His teeth looked a startling white.

"That's quite all right," Athena said. "I'm glad you came when you did, though."

His smile fell off his face like cards. "He wasn't kidding though. That wreck, it's a complete mess. I'm amazed anyone survived it, to be honest."

Athena thought that was a bold way of putting it, until he opened the door to the junkyard.

"There she is."

Athena looked for what he was pointing at, and once she found it, she clapped her hands over her mouth before a yelp could escape. Considering Apollo's exclamation, she knew it wasn't just her inexperience kicking in.

It didn't even look like a car. The silver metal lay twisted like fallen dead trees. The taillights were shattered, leaving sad tiny lightbulbs barely peaking through the protruding frame. Only the back of the car looked salvageable: the door hung open with no chance of closing again, the back windshield gone, but otherwise intact. The two back windows had been shattered when Terrence Smith and Sterling Harp ejected the vehicle, neither having worn their seat belts. They both died almost instantly.

"The car door is off to the side there," Apollo said, pointing. He seemed to have gotten over his shock enough to speak, but not much more. His face didn't regain its color and his words sounded strangled. "Why? Did it come off during the accident?"

Adam shook his head. "The fire department had to cut Caden out of the car. They also had to sever the seatbelts. They also cut the passenger side door off, although they couldn't save the passenger. It was a bad, bad wreck."

Athena straightened. Little alarm bells that practice established began to go off in the back of her mind.

"Honestly, no one should have survived that crash. I mean, look at it." Adam set his chin in his hand, not unlike Simon when he thought his way through a case. "We get our fair share of totaled cars and this is by far the worst I've ever seen."

"You know the driver?" Athena asked, managing to pull her eyes away.

Adam gave her a wary look. "What makes you say that?"

"You said his name. His first name, at that." Athena said. "That suggests that you know him."

Apollo used the old trick of staying quiet. She had seen Simon use it a handful of times, and he told her that silence could hold more meaning than words ever could. It meant her habit of talking to fill silence was rather unfortunate, even though she was learning to take comfort in it as far as Simon was concerned.

Speaking of Simon...

She jerked her head in the smallest way possible to bring herself back to reality.

"Probably wasn't supposed to say that," Adam muttered under his breath. "Yes. I did. Not well, though. We had a couple of classes together in college. I never saw him after that."

"How long ago was this?" Apollo asked.

"Ten years ago," Adam replied in an instant, and that told Athena that he had already been questioned on this subject. She let out a loud exhale. Was it Ema? Gumshoe? Maybe even Simon?

"I want to take a look at the front of the car before we continue this conversation," Athena said, and it sounded more cutting than she wanted. Apollo gave her an off look.

She gave a self-conscious shrug. "It's what we came here for."

Apollo didn't protest, but his gaze raised the hairs on the back of her neck as he followed her to the front of the car. Nothing about the car was very telling. They couldn't get too close because of the twisted metal. The driver's side window was intact as they examined it laying on the ground, even though the windshield wasn't. But the passenger side window on the other side...

"That's blood," Apollo said.

It was smeared across the window, and went upwards. Smaller splatter decorated the bottom right portion of the glass. Deep cracks that resembled spider legs went the same direction as the larger smears.

"That's Lily Jacobs, I bet," Athena said. "She was the passenger."

"You sure?"

"She hit her head on the window hard enough to kill her," she said. She opened up Widget and pulled up the autopsy report. "See?"

Apollo nodded. "Has anyone looked inside the car?"

Adam gave a self conscious shrug. "Only the front in depth, because it's too dangerous to go anywhere else. I heard they saw blood pretty much everywhere in the car, but that makes sense, right?"

Athena gave the car a good look, but didn't get any closer. "Yeah, I would say so. This is a mess." _How on earth did he survive this?_ she thought, circling the wreckage one more time. _Did Aly survive this?_

They had to find out, and soon. But a feeling deep inside Athena knew the answer.

"So," Athena said, and she had to wait a second for her heartbeat to calm from a flutter to a steady rhythm. "You knew Caden at school."

Adam had the same self-conscious habits as Apollo. A lot of fidgeting. "We never talked," he said at last, but he looked at the car instead of them. "I just knew who he was."

Athena felt the scratching in her ears at the same time Apollo started rubbing his wrist. At the office, her boss, Apollo, and herself were becoming so in tune that it was almost uncanny.

"You want to take this one?" she asked Apollo in a low voice.

"Sure," he said lightly. "Adam, do you mind repeating what you just said?"

Adam gave him a wary look. "Are you hard of hearing, or something?" Athena had to suppress a smirk. No matter who they questioned, the initial defensiveness never seemed to change.

"Humor me."

Adam spoke like Apollo was an idiot; slow and condescending. "We never talked..."

"Well, that was easy." Apollo rocked back on his heels. "You started biting the inside of your cheek almost immediately. Maybe you never spoke at school, but I assume that you spoke outside of it."

Adam could only stare at him for a minute. Athena didn't see anything of the sort, but she always took Apollo's word for it. His ability to see the ticks of his opponent was absolute, just like her hearing.

Adam finally found his voice. "How did you-"

"Practice." Apollo gave a shrug. "So, how about it?"

Adam didn't reply, and Athena wanted to growl her frustration. Apollo gave her a sideways glance, and then continued.

"You should know that we are representing Caden in a murder case," Apollo said. "If you want to stay quiet, that's your prerogative, but I'm just going to question my client about you anyway."

Athena followed suit. "Yep," she echoed. "The first thing we'll ask."

They both gave her a look. She flushed a little. It did sound awkward, now that she thought about it. Maybe she should just let Apollo handle it. Then again, it wasn't a day of investigation if she didn't look like an idiot.

 _Good thing Simon isn't here for most of investigations... okay, Athena, seriously. Stop._

She forced herself to focus on the conversation that began to unfold.

"Fine," Adam said. His eyes flashed with something Athena didn't recognize. "Caden and I met up at the Space Center a couple times a month. Back then, I was exploring options for a career there, and he was helping me."

"Helping you?" Athena echoed.

"Helping me study," Adam confirmed. "And he worked under Aura at the time, so he would have me ask her questions. That kind of thing."

Athena frowned. "Well, that didn't pan out, it seems."

Adam scratched the back of his head. "Well, he disappeared. Like, hardcore. And then rumors started around the Space Center and the HAT-1 Miracle... it just seemed like too big of a target. Too dangerous. I have a family I need to help feed. My mother..." He trailed off.

Athena looked at him. An icy, undeniable sorrow from his heart engulfed her ears. But it didn't drown out how choppy his words were, like something lurked behind them, and Athena just plain didn't like how he spoke. ' _Hardcore?' Seriously?_

"She isn't doing too good," he finished, and his adam's apple visibly bobbed. Athena nodded. Regardless of her misgivings, she understood. The Phantom must have scared off a lot of potential employees, which may have been one of his intentions. Or maybe it was a fortunate, unintended side effect that his agency benefited from.

"I understand," Apollo said lightly. "How long have you been working here?"

"A long while," Adam replied, and he sounded relieved to change the subject. "Hoyt is like a father to me. It's not the greatest money, but he keeps promoting me, so I stick around."

"Gotcha. Anything else you know about the accident? Or the defendant, for that matter?"

Adam shuffled his feet. "Well, if you're going to do that... weird thing again, you might want to know I'm a witness for the prosecution tomorrow. Or whenever the trial is."

Athena started. "Excuse me?"

"Awesome," Apollo muttered under his breath at the same time. He cleared his throat. "So, I assume the prosecution told you not to say much else?"

"Basically. And I have to get back to work." For what it was worth, Adam did seem apologetic. Athena was used to this kind of setback, but she hated Simon was responsible for it. Of course, commenting on that would get her remarks on immaturity. She had to at least try to not take it personally.

Emphasis on _try._

"Nice of Blackquill, there," Apollo said as Adam walked out of earshot. It was like he heard her line of thinking.

She shrugged. "Edgeworth would do the same thing to Mr. Wright," she pointed out, telling herself that as much as Apollo. "We have to do our jobs."

"I suppose. Just gets old." Apollo rocked back on his heels. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

Athena opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by her phone.

"I haven't had a single day this week where people didn't call me," she said to Apollo, groaning. "Seriously, what is _with_ this case?"

Apollo gestured toward her bag. "Are you going to answer it?"

Athena grumbled under her breath as she dug out her phone, but she stopped when she saw the name on the caller ID.

"Boss?"

"Tell Chords of Steel to turn on his phone." Mr. Wright sounded exhausted, and Athena checked the time on her phone before replying. It was one in the afternoon. Time flew, sure, but she just saw him. He sounded fine. "I tried calling him and it went straight to voicemail."

"'Kay, hold on." Athena relayed the message to Apollo, who frantically started to dig in his pockets. "Done. Is everything okay?"

"I just listened to exactly seventeen messages from Trucy ranging from asking if he had been murdered to asking if _she_ can murder _him_. Apparently they had practice for a magic show today."

Athena winced. "Did you sneak out before we picked up the case?"

"Yes. I figured that it was something like that." Mr. Wright gave a light laugh, before masking it with a cough. "I thought I'd call before she did something drastic. Also, I wanted to talk to you."

Athena started. She had been growing increasingly distracted by Apollo fumbling with his phone and cursing under his breath. She watched him walk off in a hurry, phone to his ear, before replying.

"Oh? About what?"

"I just got out of questioning for the Phantom-"

"I didn't think you were allowed to talk to me about that, Boss," Athena said. She played with her earring with her free hand.

"I'm not," he said. "But I do need you to know we're searching for people he worked with at this point."

"What? Who-"

"I don't know," he said. "I don't even know if there's anyone in the States. But there have been... implications. That's all I can really say."

Athena thought for a moment. "What does that have to do with me?" she said at last. "Do they think I can help catch them, or something?"

"No. Like I said, it was nothing more than implication. But I do want you to be careful."

Athena chewed on her bottom lip before nodding. "Okay. Anything else?"

"I don't think so- oh, wait. There was one thing."

She paused, having been caught about to hang up her phone. Mr. Wright had never been one for lengthy goodbyes. "What is it?"

"Have you talked to Prosecutor Blackquill today?"

She had to swallow to stop the sharp inhale she knew was coming. It settled in her stomach, all wrong. "Not you too."

"What do you mean?"

"Apollo saw him recently too. Sorry. Why do you ask?" Athena did some quick mental calculations. Simon must have left the hospital to question the Phantom almost immediately, but that meant her boss left way earlier than the actual interrogation. Did he have something else to do? Athena supposed it was none of her business.

"He was way worse than usual. Super grumpy, snapped at just about anyone who spoke to him, but he also seemed out of it." Mr. Wright paused at the next bit, and the incredulity that came into his voice at the last part had to be the reason why. "I remember him asking something about the questioning, all business, and it took two attempts for him to even hear me, much less reply."

Athena was sure she resembled a fish. She couldn't decide if her mouth should be open or closed. _Out of it? Simon?_

She would have laughed if she hadn't had a disastrous meeting with him only a few hours before. 'Out of it' was her department. Especially when she was exhausted, like now. Never Simon's. What did she do to him? Athena was the one who came out of that encounter humiliated and feeling stupid. Simon should have been able to shrug it off and continue on with his day, no questions asked.

"Athena?"

"Sorry boss," she said, and she looked up to make sure Apollo, Adam, or any other passerby wouldn't be close enough to hear. Not that she had much to hide from strangers, and Apollo could be dense about matters like these. "Going to have to plead the fifth on that one."

"Okay, but try to not mess with him too much. He needs to be sharp around the Phantom."

 _Why did you tell me that?!_ There was too much at stake with him. That was it, Athena decided. She wasn't talking to Simon until the trial - and interrogating the Phantom - was over.

But he was presiding Caden's trial...

Fine, but only when she absolutely had to.

"Athena, can I hang up the phone, or do we need to wait until the internal monologue is all done and over with?"

Her response came rapid-fire. "Like you're one to talk."

He chuckled, and then a beep told her he had hung up the phone. Apollo started to walk up to her, shaking his head and groaning.

"I thought Trucy wasn't going to let me off easy," Apollo said. "I can't believe I forgot."

Athena shrugged. "Just tell her I roped you into a case really important to me."

"I did." Apollo scratched the back of his neck. "That's the only reason she let it go. She's been really worried ever since you got tied up with another Space Center case."

"Aw." Athena flushed and looked away. "That's our Trucy."

"We were all worried. Trust me." Apollo didn't look like he wanted to elaborate, and Athena didn't push him. "I need to head to the Space Center."

Athena was instantly on guard. "Why?"

"To talk to Aura again, this time in person. Don't freak out," he said. "You don't have to come. I know you're tired, too. I just have my own questions to ask. Like if she knew Adam or anyone else that was in the car that night."

She thought about it for a moment. It was probably about the illegal autopsy report, but Apollo also led the case on minimizing her sentence for taking Trucy and others hostage. Legal advice was probably necessary, and yet...

Why did she always feel the pull to go there? Even now, when she wanted nothing to do with Aura?

"I'll go," she said. "I'll be your lift there."

* * *

"Like I said, you can wait here," Apollo said as they parked in the lot.

Athena took the keys out of the ignition and twirled the keychain around her finger. "That's probably for the best. She actually likes you, anyway."

She didn't mean for it to sound so bitter.

"Athena." Apollo's voice held a softer edge. "Did something happen?"

"We had a bit of a spat," Athena responded. She stared at the flashing GYAXA sign, and it occurred to her that eye contact was getting harder and harder as the case neared. "I think she still hates me."

"She has no reason to, though," Apollo pointed out.

"Since when does Aura need a reason to be... well, Aura?"

Apollo chuckled.

Athena frowned and looked over at him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just strange." Apollo opened his car door. "You have more in common than either of you will admit."

She didn't reply. She would be here all day if she listed off all their differences: chronic grumpiness, chronic hatred, chronic bitterness...

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit."

She waited until he opened the front doors. Athena wondered if the useless receptionist was working today. She opened her car door and looked outside. The day was beautiful. White, fluffy clouds came few and far in between in a clear, almost crystalline sky. Athena never could stay inside on a day like this one, even if it was just a car. Maybe she could take a look at the arson scene again? It was hard to believe it rained only a few days ago.

Athena let herself out and broke into a jog, making her way back to one of the three scenes they had to investigate. She doubted she could find anything without Apollo's gift of perception, but she combed the area anyway. Her eyes grew tired and her mind began to race over different subjects, like Simon, his sister, a thousand other things, but at least she was outside.

A rustle sounded in the very edge of her hearing, so soft and distant Athena nearly believed she imagined it.

But if there was anything she still had faith in anymore, at least when it came to herself, was her hearing. Ever since she could remember, it never led her astray. It was never wrong, just maybe her interpretations of what she heard.

She looked towards the wing of the Space Museum, surrounded by long grass that desperately needed a trim. That had to be the source of the noise, with it being so far away. The grass near the front was neatly trimmed, but they obviously forgot about the far wings. She frowned. Didn't they hire someone to do this? She couldn't remember. Maybe she would ask Yuri Cosmos about it later.

For now, she followed what her hearing told her. She doubted it could be anything important. Birds and other animals made their home in the woods, and some were brave enough to venture to the Space Center especially when it was dormant. But she had nothing better to do anyway.

A soft breeze rustled in the grass as if it were a living, breathing thing. Athena let it blow between her fingers as she looked up towards the sky. Simon had told her he watched the rocket Starbuck launched from around here. She had asked him why he didn't go into the Space Center to watch with the rest of them. He replied that he didn't belong up there yet. Yet. And she did? She supposed they treated their wounds differently. He seemed to retreat further from the world; she wanted every part of it. Everything she missed.

 _Including...?_

She kicked off her boots before she could complete the train of thought, without thinking about the action. She had no doubt that when Apollo came to find her, he would think she was a crazy person, but this was something Juniper had instilled in her as a child. Nothing was quite as soft as beach sand between your toes, Juniper had told her, but grass was a close second. They used to run and play near the wings of the station, almost always barefoot. Athena's headphones fell off a few times, and Juniper had to stop before long thanks to her asthma, but it was the one of the few memories Athena had where she could recall nothing but bliss. Life was perfect, as far as she knew.

She walked with her shoes in her hand, the wet grass squeezing and squelching under her toes, until something black caught her eye.

 _Deep arches._

The memory flashed in her mind.

 _Sharp points._

Athena began to run towards it. Was it the present, or her child self? She couldn't tell. The shapes became coherent.

 _Swooping lines like wings. Edges like talons._

Red hit her vision so fast that it brought her to her knees. She had endured this sight long enough to know what it was. It happened almost every time in the courtroom, or when she overdid it inside the Space Center. It was her mother's blood splatter.

Dim awareness told her that Widget's screen turned black, but she focused on holding herself. A habit she picked up as a child, because she shook so hard during her fits that child Athena was convinced that everything - guts, blood, memories - would spill out of her if she didn't.

"Athena!"

Athena shook her head as if she were clearing blood drips into her eyes. In a way, she was. She saw that insignia, in her memories, that same one in Caden's folder. She didn't think such a simple design could shake her to her core, but here she was. She pushed the truth to the back of her mind, to be processed later. Could she deal with it? She no longer knew. Maybe Simon was right.

How many memories were there in this place to haunt her?

"Athena!"

Apollo's thundering voice was like a sonic boom, shattering chains and locks, and Athena shrieked as she threw herself backwards. She could see it in its entirety: an emblem burned into the grass with what had to be a blowtorch. But there was no signs of burning anywhere else, other than the arson.

What was happening?

She had landed in the wet grass. Her bottom was already wet, but she barely felt it. Apollo's hands landed on her shoulders.

"Athena," he commanded. "Look at me."

She obeyed, teeth chattering.

"It's okay." Apollo tightened his grip on her shoulders. "You're fine."

The familiar words sank into her skin. "I'm fine," she repeated, slowly.

"Good girl." Apollo's mouth lifted in a crooked smile before turning back to serious. "What happened? Was it another panic attack?"

After the resolution of UR-1 incident and, earlier, her meltdown in the trial for Juniper and her teacher, Athena had to give the office some sort of explanation. At least they did know, when things like this happened. So it didn't come out of left field. But Athena couldn't stop the feeling of humiliation.

"I'm sorry."

"You're fine," he repeated. "Now, tell me what's happening."

Athena almost smiled. Still so blunt, even in a crisis. She pointed to the markings behind her. Apollo followed her finger, and his eyes widened.

"What _is_ that?"

"I found it drawn in Caden's folder this morning." Athena rubbed her arms, even though they were covered with her yellow jacket, trying to get some warmth. "I thought it looked familiar."

Apollo shook his head. "As weird as it is, I don't think it's worth going into a fit about it."

Athena flinched. Apollo held up his hands. "Okay, okay, sorry..."

"No, that's not it." She took in a deep breath. Her memory of running behind the Space Center earlier, when she looked through Caden's folder... why were her faulty recollections still failing her? "I remembered something else. I found this symbol outside the Space Center the day before my mother was murdered."

All the color drained out of Apollo's face, and for some reason, that gave Athena the courage to continue. She pointed towards the woods, where Juniper loved to explore. Athena gave chase after feeling the dewdrops on her bare feet. She could now recall the prick of pine needles and rocks.

"It was deeper in there, but I saw it. It's exactly the same. I know it is."

Apollo swallowed. It was the first time she saw him unsettled. "I don't want to ask the question that suggests."

Athena couldn't blame him. She got to her feet. "I need to talk to Cosmos."

"He isn't in. Apparently his hours were cut on top of everything else."

She let out a sharp exhale through her nose. "Fine. Aura then. Let's get moving."

Without waiting for Apollo's reply, she blazed through the front entrance before she could let herself think about it. She walked past the front desk, which was empty, oddly enough. Athena heard Apollo's feet hit the tile behind her in a struggle to keep up, but it didn't matter too much. There wasn't a soul in the hallways. She wasn't sure how the Center could function with so few personnel.

"Did you hear?"

Athena could catch a conversation from the other side of the hallway.

"Yeah, that receptionist was fired within a month."

"Maybe the new director didn't like her?"

"No, I heard it was..."

The voices disappeared out of her range, and she shook aside her curiosity. She found the door to Aura's lab, and found herself faltering. She stared at the doorknob like it would open for her if she did it long enough, and Apollo caught up with her before she could make up her mind.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Athena snorted, hoping the noise covered up any catch in her voice. "Of course not."

Apollo sighed. She jumped as he hip-checked her out of the way and opened the door himself. "Hey, Aura."

"You're back." Athena heard a rustle of papers.

"With company." Apollo stepped aside. Athena had to come inside, although she did so with the bravado of a mouse.

"Hi," she said.

To her surprise, Aura didn't mock her or say something harsh. Instead, she averted her eyes. "How can I help you, Princess?"

Athena couldn't speak for a moment. Aura, the bravado of a woman who hated her for seven years, acting like this?

"Athena has a question for you," Apollo prompted.

Athena gave him a quick glare before swallowing. "I need to know if you've seen something before."

Aura rolled her eyes. Athena almost smiled at it. "You're going to have to be a little more specific. What something?"

"Can you give me a piece of paper and a pen?"

Aura gave her a side look.

"Athena?" Apollo sounded confused. "What-?"

But Aura understood what she wanted. Athena used to come up to her desk all the time, back when she didn't want to disturb her mother too much, and make the exact same request. Aura reached for her printer and opened the compartment, and wrestled out a pen from an overstuffed cup near her mother's picture.

"It'll be easier if I draw it," she explained to Apollo, and he made an 'oh' shape with his mouth. She started sketching it, using quick strokes. Apollo watched as she drew over her shoulder, and she did her best to ignore him. She hadn't drawn in a long time, not since she took art classes in college. For some reason, drawing never hurt her on the inside like other things she used to do did, but with school, she didn't have the time. Maybe that was why, even though it was her drawings that ultimately led her to find her mother's body. She finished the sketch in the next few minutes, and pushed it towards Aura.

Aura stared at it for a long time. Athena let her take her time, but Apollo tapped his foot before long.

"Well?" he asked.

"Hush, I'm thinking." Aura sat back in her chair. "We see a lot of odd symbols for brands on parts, shipments of metal, rocket fuel, the like. But I haven't seen this one. At least, I don't think so."

A bubble of disappointment settled, but Athena supposed it didn't mean much. Aura wasn't the one who was found dead in the robotics lab. She still refused to look at the disassembly table, the bench. Even looking at Aura's desk was hard.

"We'll get going," Athena told Aura, and Apollo made to leave.

"Cool." Aura got back to work.

"And Aura?"

"What now?"

Athena flushed, but she asked her question anyway. "What happened to the receptionist?"

Aura looked at her like she had lost her mind. "I fired her. Obviously."

* * *

"Thank you," Apollo said into his cell phone back at the office. "Bye."

"Who was that?" Athena flipped through Caden's files for the third time since they returned to the office. Just in case she missed something. She had to. How did that symbol get in his folder? Why did he draw it? She couldn't find anything the first couple of tries.

"Caden has regained consciousness and was moved to a normal room about twenty minutes ago," Apollo said. "The trial will proceed as normal."

Athena groaned. "I guess it was too much to ask for an extra day to investigate. We have no idea what happened to Aly."

"Par the course as usual," Apollo reminded her with a wry smile. "We just have to get through it, like we always do."

She nodded. "Can we go see him?"

"Unfortunately, no. He's still being closely monitored. He's still at high risk for a relapse, and they're making a special exception for him so he doesn't have to be in the courtroom. But if we get up early, we can talk to him at 7 or 8 tomorrow. The trial starts at 10."

"It's going to have to be good enough." Athena wove her fingers together and stretched forward. "But we should discuss the case so far, right?"

"Right." Apollo turned his chair to face her. "Although it's a fine thing to not be able to talk to your own client. Ugh." He ran a hand through his hair, taking care not to hit the two strands in the front, and ended at the nape of his neck. "What a mess this is."

Athena couldn't even smile. "Alright. So, the facts. Caden crashed his car through the railing and into the meadow below late that night. Somewhere around the same time, Alexandra Ford was shot and carried out to the woods. We know she was a passenger of the car at some point."

"She also has post-mortem injuries indicating that she was part of the car wreck," Apollo added. "But she was probably already dead by the time it happened."

Athena sighed. "I'm already confused."

Apollo let out a tight smile. "Let's just take it by ear." He leaned back in his chair. "That right there suggests a third party though, right? I mean, we can't even visit our client due to the extent of his injuries. He wasn't carrying anyone out to the woods."

Athena nodded slowly. "Simon's not an idiot. He would have thought of all this."

"But he still has enough for indicting murder." Apollo rubbed his temples.

Athena rocked in her chair. "How? How is that possible?"

"It means he found evidence pointing towards Mr. Barrow," Apollo said. "And has an explanation. Athena, you know this."

She didn't reply.

"Is this going to be a problem?" he asked her. "I know you care about him, Athena-"

"Stop," she replied. "Just stop."

But it was a valid question. Did she expect too much from him? Was she being unreasonable? Athena shook her head. She wasn't. "The prosecution has been getting better about hiding evidence and using dirty tricks to get their way. Like, not doing it, I mean. I know I'm not alone thinking about that."

Apollo just stared at her. She quickly changed the subject.

"Well, what about the symbol?"

"Yeah, that's a weird one." Apollo thankfully let it go. "I would dismiss it as a red herring if it wasn't in Caden's folder. May I see it?"

Athena opened Widget and began rolling through the pages.

"Holy crap." Apollo settled next to her. "Are all employee files like this?"

"I'm pretty sure being meticulous to a fault is a requirement on your resume," Athena replied, scrolling through them. "Caden seems to be no exception."

"Have you read through the notes he took on the side?"

"Yes. They're all notes on the basics, which is odd." Athena explained what she found with his notes while she found the page, which was one of the last ones.

"That is weird. Especially if he's supposed to know that stuff already."

"I don't know if it's relevant, though. Ah, there it is."

Apollo inspected the screen for a few minutes. "It's exactly the same as what you found outside the Space Center," he said at last. "And you're sure that you saw this same symbol when you were little?"

"I'm positive." Athena thought about the rustling grass that drew her to the side of the Center. She was sure that she didn't see that as a kid, too. "It's so striking that I think it would be impossible to miss."

"I'll take your word on it. I'm still not sure if it's relevant in the case at hand," Apollo said. "We can keep it in mind."

"Don't we excel at random evidence that seems to have no meaning but actually does?"

Apollo let out a dry laugh. "True."

Athena rested her hands on her knees and looked outside. "The sun is already beginning to go down."

A slice of sunlight reflected off her desk. She closed Widget's screen. A "Bye Bye" flickered across her screen before it vanished. Athena realized that a layer of sweat plugged up her skin under her glove, and she took it off.

"I think that's about all we can do for today," Apollo said. "Is that okay with you?"

Athena walked Apollo to his bike, and then made for her car. The air was warm, even though night had started, and she stopped at her car door before getting inside. They would talk with Caden tomorrow. She doubted the case could be settled in one day. But the case prickled under her skin. Too many things didn't set right with her.

And what about Simon? And his sister?

Athena bit her lip as she got in her car and drove home, letting her thoughts chatter even though they kept finding more to say.

* * *

 _Not a whole lot to say, other than I promise that I'm seeing this through to the end. I work two jobs, one of which involves a lot of writing, so updates are going to be slow. But this thing haunts my sleep every chance it gets, so it's not like I CAN abandon it haha._

 _Until next time._


	10. Chapter 10

It was six in the morning when Athena called Apollo. He sounded awake, and he had the same plan as her.

"Want to see if Caden is well enough to talk?"

The trial was at ten, like always. Cutting out the amount of time to get to the hospital and drive to the courthouse, they would have just over three hours. It sounded like a surplus of time, but Athena also knew that they also usually talked to the defendant multiple times before the actual trial. If they forgot to cover anything, or if Caden tired, they were screwed. The thought made her nerves worse, but at least she had Apollo as assistance.

Apollo beat her to the hospital by about five minutes. She knew that because he was messing with his hair, using the window's reflection for help. She couldn't help but grin at him, despite exhaustion and anxiety, as she approached the double doors of the hospital.

"Getting ready for your date, Apollo?"

"Har har. Very funny."

Athena thought of Juniper as they entered the hospital. Maybe she would give her a call if the trial went okay. Apollo hadn't mentioned her in the past couple of days, but he had been as busy as her with this case. Thoughts of her friend swept away as a nurse recognized them.

"Will we be able to see him today?" Apollo asked, but she was already walking towards a room.

"Yes. His vital signs look good and he doesn't seem to be in danger of another relapse," she said. "But take it slow with him. He's gone through a lot."

Athena wanted to argue, that they didn't have much time, but didn't have the heart to do so. How could she? She took a deep breath as the nurse opened the door and let them in.

Caden looked considerably better than the last time she saw him, not that that was saying much. Bandages nearly swallowed his head from the forehead up, showing only the crown of his shaved head. She idly wondered if it was that way before the accident, or if that was a necessary procedure. His skin regained some color, and his superficial injuries, such as scratches and black eyes, began to fade away and change color. She took these changes to heart... until she caught the highlight of metal at the bottom of her vision.

Handcuffs.

The police must have fastened him to the bed once his condition stabilized. They were attached to the metal bar on the side, and then Athena caught a glimpse of his eyes. They reminded her of doors that stood wide open, but only led to a room with all the lights turned off.

She softened.

"Mr. Barrow." The nurse's voice lost its brisk edge she used when talking to them; evidently she didn't disagree with Athena's feelings on Caden. "Your lawyers are here."

He turned his head slowly towards them, inch by agonizing inch, and he blinked as if fighting off a dream that wouldn't let go.

"Your mother talked about them, right?"

"I remember," he said, hoarse. "You can go. It's okay."

"Call me if you need anything."

"All right."

Apollo didn't so much as smile as he stepped forward. "I would offer to shake your hand, but that seems unnecessarily difficult under the circumstances."

It was such an Apollo thing to say, complete with sarcasm and a blunt sense of humor. Athena saw clients take to it like a fish in water or one out of water, with very little in between. Thankfully, it seemed like Caden fell in the former camp.

He let out a strangled laugh, but it managed to light up his whole face. Athena's shoulders dropped a couple of inches, and she couldn't help but smile a little. Caden shifted in the bed and relaxed a fraction, too. "Caden Barrow. I've met you." He motioned his head towards Athena. "Athena Cykes, right?"

"You remember me?"

Athena thought she noticed his face tighten for a moment, but it wouldn't have been that surprising. He still had to heal from a ton of serious injuries. "Vaguely. It's been a while."

She nodded. "It has. This is Apollo Justice. He's my assistant on this case."

His eyelashes flicked. "You're in charge?"

She frowned. "Yes."

Caden didn't reply, but she could see his adam's apple bob in his throat. He looked away from them for a moment, towards the window that had its blinds rolled up. The sun reflected a glare off of Widget. It lit up Caden's face and part of the wall he turned towards.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Apollo asked, and Athena flinched. She should have had the courage to ask that first.

"No." Caden was quick to reply. "Of course not. It's just... a little surreal." He turned towards Athena, and this time he had no problem looking at her. His expression was battered, battle-wounded, but resolved. "You can see that, can't you?"

Athena nodded, despite her misgivings. "I can. Let's get started, shall we? We don't have a ton of time."

Caden winced. "Yeah. I'm sorry about yesterday. I don't know what happened."

"I don't blame you," Apollo said. "I saw your car. The fact you're even alive is a miracle."

Caden's mouth quirked upwards for only a moment, self-deprecating. "I should have joined the rest of them. And Aly..." He trailed off, and his eyes clenched shut.

"It's okay," Athena began.

"How can it be?" Caden's mouth tightened. "Regardless, I will tell you right now. I never, ever would have killed Aly. She meant the world to me, to so many people."

Apollo gave a slight nod. Athena relaxed in her chair. The truth in his voice was unmistakable. It was reassuring.

"How about you start by telling us what happened that night?" Apollo suggested.

"Take it slow," Athena added. "I know we're in a hurry but you don't need another relapse."

"There was a party at a friend's house," Caden started, but his voice seemed to stutter over each word. He sighed. "I'm sorry. My memory of that night is really shitty."

"Take your time," Athena repeated.

"They wanted to welcome me home," he said, concentrating. "Lily, Terrence, and Sterling all came with me. Aly was already there, but her car broke down shortly after arriving. She asked for a lift back."

Apollo leaned back in his chair."Where did you go?"

"Overseas."

Like me, Athena couldn't help but think. "For years?"

"Something like that." Caden adjusted in his bed. "Anyway, we stayed for a couple of hours before driving back. I had Aly in the passenger seat, the other three in the back."

Athena could sense Apollo wanted to interrupt, but she put two fingers on his arm. It did contradict the facts. Lily Jacobs was found dead in the passenger seat, not Aly. But Caden seemed sure of this fact, and he already stated his memory was spotty.

"Later," she told Apollo in a low voice, and after a moment's hesitation, he nodded.

Caden didn't notice. "It was raining really, really hard," he said. "I remember losing control of my car. Aly was hurt, and there was screaming in the back... and then I don't remember much else."

Athena shared a long look with Apollo. "That makes it sound like Aly was a part of the accident," she said at last. "And that she should have been found in the car."

"I don't know why she was in the woods," he said. "I don't get it. How..." He trailed off, and Athena leaned back in her chair.

"This doesn't make any sense," Athena said, as gently as she possibly could.

"That's what happened," he snapped at her.

"Okay, okay." Apollo cut in, giving Athena a look. "We believe you."

Caden's agitation subsided. He stared at the ceiling, trying to get his breathing back under control. Athena stared at his profile for a while, trying to think.

"An arson case happened at the Space Center close to the time of the accident. Would you know anything about that?"

"What?" Caden's mouth twisted, his eyes going wide. "Are you kidding me?"

Athena's senses were assaulted with wrong. The buzzing in her ears thundered like a hive of wasps, circling her head. But she could also hear his emotions: exploding outwards. Not like Simon, who had one source. They shot outwards, like comets in a night sky.

"You didn't hear about it?" Apollo folded his arms across his chest. Athena jabbed him in the side with her elbow, but this time, he ignored her. "Someone must have told you. And you drove past the Center, didn't you? Couldn't you see the smoke?"

Athena didn't have to hear Caden speak to know his heart. It galloped to an uncertain rhythm. The machines next him started to accelerate.

"Apollo, it's possible the fire started after the accident," Athena told him.

"But-"

"Not now," she hissed. "Look at him."

Apollo went quiet. Caden shuddered in his bed.

"The Space Center-" he began.

"Please calm down." She put a hand on the bar of his bed.

Caden had his face buried in his hands, and Athena could tell he was trying to listen to her. "We need to focus on Aly at the moment," Athena said under her breath to Apollo. "For now, anyway."

She heard him let out a frustrated breath, but he did as he was told. He switched the subject with a fluidity she knew he didn't feel.

"Do you remember hydroplaning?"

Caden frowned. "Is that what happened?"

"It was raining," Athena said. "At least when you crashed. The road was wet when the emergency crew found you, about ten minutes after the fact."

He nodded, taking his hands away from his face. Their diversion tactic worked, at least for the time being. "Yeah, that would make sense. I remember Terrence and Lily in particular were goofing around in the back. They were really distracting. I got so annoyed with them." His voice trailed off, and Athena had to stifle her sympathy.

If he's remembering that correctly. Athena would have to get reports on the who the blood in the passenger seat belonged to in court, but Lily was definitely found in the passenger seat at the time of her death. She opened Widget to make a note next to Lily's file.

Caden looked on with a special interest. "Is that from the Space Center?"

Athena eyed him from around Widget's screen. He huffed with each breath, and his eyes slid closed at random intervals. She closed Widget and sat with her hands on her knees. "Yes. My mother and Aura created it. I'm useless in court without it."

Athena didn't know why she disclosed so much information, but it definitely had an effect on Caden. He sank back in his pillows, his eyes tightly closed. Remembering and forgetting. Wanting to do both. She knew because she felt it before.

"Apollo," she said. "I think it's time to get going."

"Oh?"

Athena stood up. "He's had enough. Thank you, Caden."

His breathing filled the room, like it was the only thing that mattered to him anymore. They got up from their chairs and closed the door quietly behind them. Apollo let out a loud sigh. "What a mess."

Athena rubbed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I've never had a client like that," he replied. "Even Wocky could function at a basic level. My bracelet was freaking out left and right, but I couldn't figure out if he was lying or if his condition made it impossible for him to respond normally. Maybe it's both."

It was hard to fathom that someone who had gone through so much could be lying, or would have the strength to lie. But Athena knew people were capable of terrible acts, even people with all the good intentions in the world.

"But Apollo," she said quietly, "his condition didn't interfere on one question. On whether or not he killed Aly."

"That's true." He rocked back on his heels. It was so strange. It had to be one of their most upsetting questions, but he replied with a measured calm that Athena knew must have taken a great deal of effort. "None of this makes sense."

"It did take a lot of effort to say what he did," she said. "He can only handle so much, I guess."

Apollo brushed his hair back. "Sheesh. A case where the defendant is more fragile than the witnesses. Heck, we can barely even talk to him. This is going to get messy."

"It always does. Even if the client is the picture of health." Athena's smile barely lifted at the corners. She started to feel that six AM alarm clock, particularly behind her eyelids. "I need coffee."

Apollo pushed himself away from the wall. "Think the hospital has a cafe?"

* * *

They were nice and early to the courtroom, mostly because they couldn't talk to Caden. He wouldn't even be present for his own trial, which gave Athena chills to think about, but it made sense. He could barely talk to them without hurting himself. How could he be present at a murder trial, accused of killing someone he cared for, in his condition? Athena swallowed.

"I'm actually nervous," Apollo admitted to her as they sat in the defendant's lobby, pouring over their documents. "I haven't been this nervous since my debut."

"I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my life," Athena replied. She had to constantly sip her coffee so she wouldn't upset it with her shaking hands. "And I've been a basket case with most of my... ugh. Pun."

Apollo groaned. "You do them by second nature now?"

"You're FINE!"

Both of them jumped in their chairs, and Athena had to throw her cup away from her so that hot liquid wouldn't stain her clothes. Juniper stood proudly in the door for only a moment before dissolving into a coughing fit.

"Junie?" Athena got up, and winced. Some coffee soaked into her leggings, although most of it made its home on the tile floor. She looked at it with some mourning before turning to her friend, who was coughing and breathing into her sunflower at the same time.

"Sorry." Juniper's voice was hoarse and strained. "I'm not used to yelling that loud."

"I appreciate the thought, but really, don't hurt yourself over us." Apollo stood up to give her a quick hug. Athena was sure her eyebrows went up to her hairline.

Juniper narrowed her eyes, and Athena tried not to laugh. Her friend's jaw quivered from the effort, and her nose scrunched like a rabbit's. Still, Athena got the message: _shut up, shut up, shut up_. "You guys looked so depressed, I wondered for a minute if the trial was already over. Come on. That's not like you."

"You're right. Thanks, Juniper." Apollo turned to Athena. "But let me demonstrate it without dying. You're FINE, Athena!"

"You're FINE, Apollo!" Athena dutifully yelled back, and she already stood straighter afterwards. She grinned. "Perfect. Thanks, you two."

"You're welcome." Juniper held her hands under her chin. "But I'm not dying."

"Still making a racket at this hour?"

Athena didn't turn at his voice. No, she couldn't. She promised herself.

"You're early too, Prosecutor?" Apollo's voice sounded like the very definition of cool and collected, which is how Athena knew the facade. Really, she didn't need to hear buzzing or subtle changes of pitches or voice breaks to know that about her partner.

"I always am," he replied, and she could feel his eyes on her back. Because that wasn't awkward or uncomfortable.

"Figures," Apollo muttered under his breath, but Athena squared her shoulders. She stopped next to her partner's side and faced Simon with her chin slightly raised.

"Don't mind him, Apollo," she said with a feigned lightness. "He's lying through his teeth."

Apollo (and Juniper, for that matter) just about choked on their own spit, but Simon, to his credit, didn't even flinch. He met her eyes with that calculating, hunting-hawk gaze, the one that always managed to make Athena feel small. She held her ground, but she found herself cursing Mr. Wright and Apollo mentally. Out of it? More pissy than usual? Seriously?

"Those morons!" Widget rang out, and Athena grabbed at him.

"That was random," Apollo said. Then his eyes narrowed, and he possessed more of a knack of looking scary than Juniper. Even at his height. "Wait, are you talking about me?"

"Nope!" Athena's pitch was at least two decibels above normal. "Definitely not!"

Simon let out such a low chuckle, Athena questioned she even heard it for a second. But judging from Juniper and Apollo's expressions, they heard it too.

It looked like she was going to have to ask. Athena sighed. "Is there something we can help you with, Si-Prosecutor Blackquill?"

"I wanted to make sure you actually planned on going through with this," he said. "Unfortunately, I was correct."

Athena looked up at the ceiling for a moment before answering. Breathe, girl. "I have never given you any indication I was going to change my mind," she said in a low voice. "Even when you were being overbearing and ridiculous."

She never in a million years expected a triumphant smile. It made the feather in his mouth roll to the corners. "Actually," he said, "You did. Recently."

What?

"But that will be a story for a later time, it seems. I'll see you on the battlefield." Simon turned to head towards the doors of the Defendant Lobby and was out of sight in a few swift strides and a flaring of his surcoat.

"See? He's weird lately." Apollo crossed his arms. "Although he hasn't seemed to have lost his flair for the histrionic."

"Or the cryptic," Juniper added. "What was he going on about?"

"I have no idea," Athena said. "He's been bugging me to stay away from this case, but that's just Simon. I've told him off on several occasions."

"Right, and you're the only person who gets away with that now," Apollo pointed out. Juniper nodded from behind him.

"You never told me why he came to your apartment-"

Apollo looked so scandalized that Athena didn't know whether to laugh at him or strangle him. "He came to your _apartment_?"

"You're the one who gave him my address!"

"I thought it was for a reference or something! Like a house or a car or a promotion. You know, normal things. Not showing up unannounced."

Athena's face warmed despite the air-conditioned lobby. "First of all, we're friends. He can visit if he wants to. Second of all, he sounded exactly like he always does," she snapped. "Besides, how is this relevant to the trial at hand?"

"It's just a little odd, Athena," Juniper said in a voice that reminded Athena of a mother calming a child's tantrums. It made her angrier.

"Histrionic and cryptic, right? Business as usual, then. Now, I'd like to not lose this trial."

Apollo opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the bailiff approaching them. "Ms. Cykes, Mr. Justice, the judge is ready to begin the trial. If you could enter the courtroom at this time?"

She couldn't feel the effects of their Chords of Steel workout anymore. And her thoughts were oriented around someone who she promised to not think about. She let out a loud whoosh of her breath.

"Glad we talked about stuff that's actually relevant, guys," she couldn't help but mutter. Juniper's cheeks were bright red and she wouldn't make eye contact.

At first, she thought Apollo ignored what she said, but she saw a hint of color on the highest points of his face too. At first, she thought he was going to say something, but he clearly thought better of it.

"Well, we need to get going," he told Juniper. "Will you be up in the benches?"

"Yes, of course."

Athena almost missed the brief smile that appeared on Apollo's face. If it happened any other time, she would have been ecstatic. Instead, she wanted nothing to do with it. He was lucky, she grouched to herself. Her mood was foul when she entered the courtroom with Apollo in tow, and despite his earlier triumphant look, Simon didn't look much better. His jaw was set, and they both stood quietly at their respective benches for several seconds until the judge dared to break the silence.

"Did I get the wrong room and walk into a funeral procession?"

His joke landed the way he should have expected. Regardless, Athena forced a smile. Widget usually had plenty of input at the beginning of a trial, but it didn't say a word. Athena wasn't surprised. Her mind was a curious blank, something that should have sent her into a panic. But instead, a calm settled over her.

"Well, then." The judge seemed flustered. Simon barely shifted his weight, and he didn't even look her way once. Athena took a deep breath. She could do this. She was fine.

"The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Caden Barrow."

"The prosecution is ready, Your Baldness."

Apollo choked on his own spit. Simon was already in fine form, going back to the old nickname he used before his release. Athena stuttered a bit herself. "The defense is ready, Your Honor."

The judge opened his mouth to say something, but he decided against it. The courtroom sat in an eerie silence.

"Well, _do_ something!"

For once, Athena didn't do a thing to stop Widget from speaking, or even react to it.

"I'm inclined to agree with Widget," Apollo said. "What are we waiting for?"

The judge cleared his throat. "So... am I giving the opening statement again?"

Athena swallowed. Fear hit her like a storm front, and she couldn't breathe for a moment. Widget began to fade from light blue to black, and this urged her to speak.

"I'd... I'd rather the prosecution give the statement," she said. "If I have a choice in the matter."

She dared to look in Simon's direction, but his face was unreadable. But he didn't look like he was mocking her, or rejecting the idea, at least.

"A car accident occurred a couple of weeks ago that killed three passengers and seriously injured the driver," Simon began, and Athena couldn't explain the flood of relief. "Investigation has concluded that the accident was merely that - an accident."

So far, so good.

"However, it has come to our attention there was a fourth passenger, by the name of Alexandra Ford. Her manner of death was a homicide, and our investigation has concluded only Mr. Barrow could be her killer."

"But... he was in a car accident," the judge said. "How would he have the time?"

A crooked smile lifted Simon's mouth. "That will come to light in due time. I will call my first witness."

"Ema," Apollo murmured.

Athena nodded. Her shoulders relaxed, even if only by millimeters. The trial was within her control. She doubted she could stay so on top of things with Gaspen Payne breathing down her neck.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Apollo added. "We haven't even heard the testimony yet."

Athena realized she was smiling, and a rush of color bloomed on her cheeks. Yellow and dark blue flickered from Widget until fading to the color of the sky. Apollo was right: she needed to stay focused.

Ema appeared in front of the witness stand. Her face maintained the same careful neutrality that Athena had yet to master.

"State your name and occupation, witness."

"Ema Skye. Detective."

Athena heard the usual threads of annoyance and disgust, but nothing out of the ordinary. Either she didn't have time to do the tests she asked... or...

"Very well," Simon said. "Start your testimony."

Ema cleared her throat. "Our basis for accusing the defendant is very simple. There isn't much to explain." She rocked back on her heels. "The gun used to kill Alexandra Ford was found in the foot well of the passenger side of the car, where Lily Jacobs died. The gun has the fingerprints of the defendant."

 _Of course_.

Already, her confidence was beginning to wane.

She spoke out anyway, or perhaps because of it. "That doesn't make any sense. That implies that the defendant was shot in the passenger seat. Lily Jacobs was found in the passenger seat, not Alexandra. And, what? Did Caden shoot her while he was driving?"

Ema rolled her eyes. "I would tell you, if you wouldn't interrupt me."

"Let her finish," Apollo murmured. "There will be plenty of time to challenge it."

Athena blushed. She knew this. She knew to bring up problems during the cross-examination. Simon didn't say anything, like she expected him to, but she wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

"Anyway." Ema cleared her throat. "We found traces of Alexandra's blood near the arson site. We think she was attacked there, and then, injured, she ran towards the river. She was then shot near the tree."

"So this all happened before the car accident?" The judge leaned forward.

"Yes."

Athena found her voice. "Is the prosecution also accusing Mr. Barrow of arson?"

"We lack decisive evidence to move forward in that part of the case," Simon replied, smooth as can be. "However, I will say that the circumstantial evidence is... abundant. There isn't much reason to attack Alexandra Ford at that particular site except to cover up another crime."

Athena's throat tightened to the point of pain.

"I found glass, not blood," Apollo said. "Well, this feels familiar. Ready?"

 _No_. "Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."

The routine questions brought out a few photographs from Ema. One was of the road, another of the crunched car, and one of the arson site. Athena was familiar with two of the scenes, but she already saw the purpose of the road. Skid marks. A lot of them. One set next to the rail, and then one near the curve where Caden drove through the barrier and into the valley below.

 _Huh_.

"Wait," Apollo said, pointing towards the pictures of the car remains. "Look at the passenger door. We completely missed that."

Athena followed his finger until she found it: black soot on the frame of the car. It was barely visible due to the silver paint, but it was definitely there.

"Is the defense done dawdling?" Simon dragged his voice into a drawl. "If so, we need to move this trial along before we hit the end of the century."

Athena shot him a glare, but he didn't seem affected by it. Figures. "Ms. Skye," she said, ignoring Simon, "please continue your testimony. I apologize for the delay."

Ema shrugged. "No skin off my teeth. Anyway. We're not entirely sure what Alexandra was attacked with while she was still alive, but my findings suggest that it was an object made of glass. The victim shows bruising on the back of her skull, and the glass found embedded in her hair and scalp wasn't consistent with glass from a windshield.."

Athena wrestled back a shriek as Taka flapped his wings into a gust above her, stopping to a hover, and he dropped a manilla folder on the defense bench.

"The final autopsy report," Simon said, and he could barely contain a smile.

"Thanks," Athena muttered. She opened the folder.

Pre-mortem trauma. She knew that the autopsy that Aura sent her wasn't final, but it still sent her far up the creek without a paddle.

"Interesting," Apollo murmured. Louder, he asked Simon, "So does the prosecution maintain that Alexandra was murdered for what she saw at the Space Center?"

"That's a possibility," Simon replied, hand on his chin. "Or maybe it was a lover's spat. A domestic case. Or perhaps the fire was a separate matter, not related to the case at hand. Regardless, there is proof that the defendant carried this murder out. I will again state for His Baldness that the gun found had Caden Barrow's fingerprints."

"I gathered as much, Prosecutor Blackquill," the judge said with a dry tone. "And you're not in prison anymore. I no longer have to tolerate such disrespect-"

Simon flicked his fingers.

"Ah! Never mind."

"See? Still terrifying," Apollo said.

"It's all scare tactics," she muttered under her breath. "You seriously think he wants to go back to jail, after all we went through?"

"Does the defense have a response?"

Athena stumbled for a moment. "I-I have the right to cross examine the witness," she said. "Right?"

The judge frowned. "It is not my duty to remind you of legal process, defense."

Athena rounded on Ema before Simon could speak. "Well, let's have it. Your testimony?"

"Glass inconsistent with windshield glass was found at the arson scene," Ema began, but she offset it with a look towards Athena and a quick "sorry."

"Of course it benefits the prosecution and not us," Apollo muttered.

"I've seen glass like this before, actually, and it's consistent with blown glass. Thin in certain places and thicker in others. I'm guessing the defendant attacked her with some kind of ornament. Maybe of sentimental value?"

"Hold it," Athena said. The words started to ingrain themselves as a reflex, much to her relief. "You don't have any evidence on hand of what this "weapon" actually was?"

"No," Ema replied. "But that's not a big deal. We know it was used to attack Alexandra. Her findings in her hair and scalp prove it. We also found the same glass and blood at the arson site."

"Before the defense gets any ideas," Simon added, "I already concede that I don't have proof it was the defendant attacked her at the arson site. That's not the issue here."

Athena frowned. "Then what is?"

"That she was in a weakened state before being shot." Simon held his elbow, fingers around his chin. "Continue, Skye-dono."

"Blood was found near the river on a tree, and it matched the victim's. It looks like the victim was shot there, and then left to rest in the river." Ema seemed uncertain, and Athena couldn't blame her. All of this sounded dodgy. No glass statue or whatever it was that was used as a weapon, and...?

"Was the bullet recovered?"

"Yes. It was found a couple of feet away from her purse. That was how we got the ballistics to match." Ema leaned back on her heels. "I'll submit the bullet for evidence now, Your Honor."

"The court accepts it."

"Wait," Athena said. "It's dirty, but there isn't any blood on it."

"What could that mean?" the judge asked.

"Animals stepping on it could be a factor. The bank was also rather wet," Ema replied. "It probably just smudged off. Regardless, traces of the victim's blood were found on it."

Simon didn't add to that part of the discussion. Athena eyed him, and shook her head. He had to know how dubious this testimony was. Right?

It didn't matter, she supposed. It was her job to dismantle a prosecutor's case.

"Here's my first problem," Athena said. "Glass can't be easily destroyed by fire. It melts, sure, but the blaze needs to be very, very hot. If the prosecution is maintaining that the victim was attacked before she was shot in the woods, wouldn't there be more glass at the scene?"

"Not if it was removed," Ema replied.

"That doesn't work," Athena said. "Caden's car was found not even a mile away from the murder scene. Unless the investigation found glass pieces in the car that didn't come from the windshield?"

Ema opened her mouth, and then closed it.

"It couldn't have been swept down the river, either," Apollo said. "Glass generally sinks, and the river's flow isn't fast enough to carry something like that downstream."

"Your Honor, we investigated the Space Center, the murder scene, and the accident scene thoroughly," Ema said, crossing her arms. "But the reality of the matter is that Alexandra's blood was found at the arson site. We've had no eyewitness accounts of Alexandra visiting the Space Center before then, and no reports of assault from Alexandra or any family members, so there isn't any reason to believe the attack took place before the night of the murder."

"That's not good enough," Athena snapped. "There's no conclusive proof that she was attacked before-"

"Silence!"

Simon's command ripped through her ears, like it always did. It never ceased to amaze her how much psychological impact he could put in a single word. She lived in the moments where her aunt and uncle held her shoulders while chastising her as a child. She stood again at the witness stand, blubbering about emotions no adult could comprehend while Simon stared at her with a blankness in his face she could only find on paper. When her mother worked away on her computer instead of looking at Athena's drawing. What threw her the most, though, was how much it reminded her of the _before_. When she still fought to bring him back.

"This is not an battery or assault investigation," he said. "This is a murder investigation. The conclusive evidence that we have is there is a gun with the defendant's prints on it. By your logic, a gun was found in Caden's car, meaning that there wasn't time to dispose of the evidence. We have a bullet that has Alexandra's blood and matches the ballistics. We can only spectate on how and why the attack happened, or how Alexandra managed to escape to the woods, but her wounds can't be explained by a simple bullet. Unless you can discount the murder weapon in some way, this discussion is pointless."

"I have to agree with the prosecution," the judge said. "Unless there is a point to the defense's questioning, this discussion will need to cease."

"Darn it," Athena muttered. She glared at Simon, even though he was content to ignore her. "He's just as manipulative."

"I still don't think that it's a 'pointless' discussion," Apollo said, frowning. "She was attacked before being shot. Why wasn't that attack enough? And why can't we find these glass pieces, if she was attacked by a glass object?"

Athena flicked at her earring. The cool stone helped ground her. An image came to her, one that matched a photo she took in Widget's database.

"Footprints," she said slowly.

Apollo looked at her. "What?"

"Detective Skye, can you please describe the victim and the suspect's movements for that night?" Athena rested on her hands, pressing her fingertips into the bench's wood. "Based on your findings?"

"Sure."

Apollo frowned. "Do you see something, Athena?"

She opened up Widget, scrolling to the picture. "Take a look at that."

"After Alexandra was attacked at the front of the Space Center, she took off running towards the woods..."

"How could she run?" the judge interrupted. "She was wounded."

Ema shrugged. "That's what happened. Maybe adrenaline kicked in."

Athena's eyes narrowed.

"Anyway. They made it to the river, and that's when the victim was shot. My guess is that the defendant wanted the victim a fair distance away from the Space Center, to reduce his chances of being caught."

"Hold it!" Athena leaned back on her heels. "Blood was found on a tree, yes, but the opposite side of the river. Are you saying that they crossed it before she was shot?"

Ema thought for a moment, unsure. "Yes, she had to," she replied at last. "Blood splatter can't go that far. But does it matter?"

"It does. Add it to your testimony, please."

Ema nodded. "The suspect then positioned her body so that her head was angled into the stream. I'm thinking it was a personal vendetta against the victim; they did know each other, after all."

" _Lächerlich_ ," Athena thought, crossing her arms. But she hesitated about opening her mouth.

"Athena," Apollo urged. "Speak up."

"Objection," she said, on cue. "If the culprit crossed the river to position Alexandra's body, or if they crossed the river at all, there should be footprints. But look. There are only footprints on the Space Center's side of the river."

"Ah!" Ema clapped a hand over her mouth. "How-"

"Surely the defense can come up with better," Simon said coldly. "There is much more clutter on the other side of the river. Leaves, twigs, what have you. I remember you making quite the racket during you investigated the scene."

Athena glared at him. "Their feet would have been wet," she said, choosing to ignore the insult. "Footprints would have even been more likely, not less."

"That's a good point," the judge interjected. "I don't see anything like that on the scene."

"Then how did that blood get there, Your Honor?" Ema asked. "I'll admit, it's odd, but the blood without a shadow of a doubt belongs to the victim. Odder things have happened in this courtroom, don't you think? It doesn't change the facts. The victim did make it to the river and there is blood at the crime scene."

The judge faltered. "Fair enough."

"Oh, come on!" Athena blurted out.

"Immature outbursts do not become you, Cykes-dono," Simon said. "The victim's boots were soaked through, and mud patterns on her jeans indicated she fell in the river."

"Or someone dropped her in it," Athena retorted.

Simon's eyes flashed. "And where is your proof?"

Athena gritted her teeth. He had a point, but this testimony...

"Let it go," Apollo said quietly.

She spun to him. "And let them win on such flimsy testimony?"

"If it's that flimsy, it should have more than just one problem," Apollo replied. "Keep going."

Athena sighed. "Fine."

"The prosecution has one more bit of proof that Alexandra was shot on the other side of the river," Ema added. "The bullet. It was found near Alexandra's body."

Ugh, that's right. Athena would have to concede that point.

"That's odd," Apollo murmured.

 _Huh?_

"I have a question, Ms. Skye," Apollo said. "You were saying that the victim was fleeing the defendant, and he let her until they reached the river?"

Ema looked apprehensive. "Correct. Otherwise, he would have shot her much sooner. He didn't have to be close to kill her."

"Right." Apollo's mouth lifted in a crooked smile. "Thank you, Ema."

Ema took a Snackoo out of her mouth and crunched on it. Athena felt like she was missing something, so she thought on it. Blood was splattered off to the left, on a tree some ways away from the body. And she was shot in the temple...

"Oh!"

"Did the defense think of something?" The judge had his gavel ready.

"Um. Yes." Athena cleared her throat. "The victim was running away from the suspect, yes? Then the bullet entry should have been in the back of her head, not her temple. But that didn't happen."

The judge started with an exclamation.

Excited, she continued. "It would have gone against basic instinct to run in any other direction than away from the killer, and she should have had no reason to turn. If she did, it would have brought Alexandra closer to death-"

"Silence!"

It was to be one of those trials, apparently.

She jumped when Simon slammed both fists on his bench. "Would it bother the defense much to use intelligence in this matter?" He straightened. "There are infinite explanations as to why the defendant turned her head. A loud noise from the Space Center. Those drunken fools yelling their jolly hearts away."

"A bear or wolf in the woods!" the judge interrupted helpfully.

Simon ignored him. "The facts remain: there is a gun with the defendant's fingerprints. Footprints leading to the river. Blood splatter on a tree. Unless the defense can contend these facts, any further deliberation is, again, pointless. And I abhor repeating myself."

"Defense, I'm going to have to agree with Prosecutor Blackquill. Unless you can find conclusive proof that contradicts the prosecution's case, I'm going to have to give my ruling."

 _I can't think of a single_ -

"Athena, you're freaking out," Apollo said.

She whirled to him. "Of course I'm freaking out! It's-"

"Too soon for that," Apollo said. "Look at the autopsy report. The text, in particular."

"Why would I?"

"Just do it."

"Defense, we don't have all day," the judge said. He reached for his gavel. "If you have nothing to add, then we shouldn't waste any more time."

"I'm sorry, Your Honor." Apollo's crossed arms and slight smirk said he was anything but. Athena envied his posture, his complete calm. It proved as a yin and yang to Simon, who stood just as tall but looked far more intimidating and formidable. Granted, that could be just the height difference. "I have one more question for Ms. Skye. Does the prosecution maintain that all of the victim's cuts are from the attack with the glass object?"

Ema started. "Y-yes, for the most part. Glass, especially broken glass and splinters like these, can cut even when they're falling. Of course, some of the wounds could be from stumbling in the woods or hitting a rock in the river when she went down."

Athena heard the wobble in her tone, and then it sent her reeling. Her eyes locked on the long, pinky-red gash in the victim's leg, washed clean of blood. Jackpot.

" _Grazie_ ," she said under her breath to Apollo.

He nodded. " _De nada_."

Wrong language, but she would take it as support anyway.

"Objection!" She loved that word. Maybe she would try translating it in court sometime, make it really confusing for everyone. Granted, she could be held in contempt of court...

"We're waiting, Ms. Cykes," the judge said.

Right. "I see in the updated autopsy report that most of the glass cuts on the victim's body are pre-mortem. That would make sense, if you're maintaining she was assaulted with a glass object. However, there's an exception with her injuries."

Ema frowned. "An exception...ah!"

Athena remembered, from the hacked autopsy report. Even though it wasn't finished, wasn't updated, she remembered: the gash in her leg. The current autopsy report held the same information, but it wasn't stressed nearly as much. If she hadn't seen it, she might have missed the information entirely.

"The slice in her leg is post-mortem," Athena said. "And I see some of the other glass cuts, not many of them, but some, are post-mortem as well. This means that not only was it after she was attacked, but after she was killed."

"She fell," Simon said, shrugging one shoulder. "This one is obvious. She was shot and fell into the river. There are rocks in there. She could have easily cut herself on one."

"You're a samurai, Prosecutor Blackquill," Athena snapped. "You should know the edges of this wound are too clean. Too precise."

"Perhaps there was glass in the river," Simon said. Athena could hear mocking tones in his voice, and Widget glowed red.

"Or maybe her body was placed in the trunk of the car before the accident," Athena shot back.

"Wait." The judge said. "What?"

Athena shook her head. "Your Honor has to see how dubious the prosecution's case is," she said. "And this makes the most sense. There was blood found in the trunk of the car. The back windshield shattered, pouring glass on top of Ms. Ford, who was already dead by the time that happened."

"But, Ms. Cykes." The judge leaned forward. "That would imply-"

"That Caden Barrow, or any of his passengers, couldn't have planted her body in the river," Athena finished for him. "This scenario means there was a third party at the scene." She paused for a moment. "It implies someone other than Caden could have murdered Alexandra Ford."

"I see. But the fingerprints..."

"There are too many questions at this juncture," Athena said, and she hoped it sounded final. "More investigation will be needed if the prosecution insists on following this route."

"Nice," Apollo said.

But Athena wasn't looking at him. Simon's face curved in a small smile. Did he know this would happen? Did he somehow have all the cards without her knowing it? Were they just dancing in his palm? She really thought her paranoia was getting the better of her, until he spoke.

"I suppose I should call my next witness?"

Athena nearly growled at him. She should have known. Simon wasn't stupid, and he never went anywhere in a courtroom without mind games. He was up to something, and she felt a pang of hurt. It took her a moment to realize why.

He was reverting back to how he was before she freed him from prison.

"The Twisted Samurai strikes again," Apollo muttered under his breath.

Athena ignored him again. "Yes," she answered Simon, eyes narrowed. Whatever was going on, she planned on calling all of his bluffs. Every last one. Widget stayed a steady crimson, silent otherwise. "I suppose you should."

* * *

TBC

 _Lächerlich -_ ridiculous _in German_

 _Grazie -_ Thank you _in Italian_

 _De nada -_ You're welcome _in Spanish_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note:** It has been an unforgivably long time since I've posted, and for that I apologize. I had to do a lot of soul searching, and I realized I couldn't let this story die. So I'm back, hopefully for good this time. Until I can finish this puppy. If any of you are still out there, thank you._

* * *

"The _nerve_ of him!" Athena seethed. "He knew his testimony was dodgy as all hell, and he had planned on Adam giving testimony the whole time."

"Athena. Adam told us as much-"

"Did he think I would actually go for that?" Athena paced the defense lobby, throwing up her hands. "Did he actually think I'm so green that I would lose a case on testimony like _that_?"

"Athena," Apollo said calmly. "Did it ever occur to you that he wants you to be riled up?"

Athena stopped just before one of the chairs and looked at him.

"I know," he said with a straight face. "It's like he does this all the time, or something."

Athena sighed and collapsed into the chair, staring at the green and white tile. "I don't like it," she said, and it sounded plaintive. "There was no need."

"We're more familiar with the evidence now, and we know Alexandra probably wasn't killed where she was found. That's something." Apollo scratched under his nose. "It's a shame that we don't know if that strange symbol is a part of this case or not."

"Wait!" Athena stood up from the chair so fast, it scooted back a few inches. "Oh my God, we are so stupid."

"Speak for yourself."

"No, I mean it." Athena rounded on Apollo. "Adam said he knew Caden, and we knew he would be a witness. Why didn't we ask Caden about their friendship or whatever it was?"

Apollo groaned, putting his face in his hands. "You're right."

"Yeah."

"Do you think we can call him? We have fifteen minutes left."

Athena let out a loud huff of air. "I suppose we should."

She found the number for the hospital on her phone and dialed it, impatiently drumming her free hand on the chair. Apollo looked just as antsy, and he looked around the defense lobby. It was empty. Juniper still sat in the gallery. It was a shame. Even though Athena got annoyed with her, she would have liked to know a judge-in-the-making's thoughts.

"Put it on speaker phone." Apollo interrupted her thoughts. She complied, and the sound of ringing braced against a wall of static kept them company in the empty lobby.

Finally, someone answered. "Hotti Clinic. How can I direct your call?"

"I need to talk to a patient, please. I don't have his cell phone number."

"We try to ensure patient confidentiality," the nurse said. Even though she followed protocol, Athena had to stop herself from snapping at her. "Who are you trying to reach, and why?"

"Caden Barrow. I'm his lawyer."

"Ah." She could envision the nurse nodding. "Yes, that's perfectly fine. One moment."

"Thank you." Athena rolled her eyes at Apollo and stuck out her tongue. Apollo only gave her a small smile in return. He mouthed the word 'patience.'

"Hello?" Caden sounded shaky. It might have been his first call since he landed in the hospital. Athena cleared her throat.

"Hi, Caden. It's Athena Cykes."

"Oh, hello." Athena could hear bedsheets and movement. He must have been trying to adjust. "Is the trial over?"

"Not yet, but we've made good progress." Athena didn't want to say too much, and send him into another panic. Apollo gave her a thumbs up. "However, we're about to cross-examine a witness who says he knows you."

"Oh?"

"His name is Adam."

Caden didn't reply. Athena could hear nothing from her phone except for breaths on staccato, sounding far away. She opened her mouth to say something, ask if he was still there, but then she heard a click and the call ended.

Apollo stared at her phone along with her. "Well," he said at last. "That's not good."

"Agreed," Athena said, turning her phone's screen off. "I don't like this one bit. Why wouldn't he talk to us?"

Apollo had no answer.

How was she supposed to defend him? That sinking feeling reappeared in her stomach. She stared at her phone until she put it away, and she rested her temples in her hands.

"We can't get discouraged," Apollo told her. "It's too late to turn back now."

Athena nodded.

"We know our client didn't murder the victim," Apollo said in a brisk voice. "And we know he cared deeply for her. If we depend on that line of thinking, we should be able to work the truth out of this witness. Or something that can carry us to day 2, at least."

"But Caden should know that," Athena pointed out. "And he hung up the phone on us anyway."

Apollo breathed deeply through his nose. He didn't look at her, and she knew he felt his own misgivings. "I know," he said at last. "But there isn't anything we can do about that."

"Keep pressing forward," Athena murmured, echoing Apollo's earlier sentiment.

Apollo nodded. "Exactly."

"Ms. Cykes!" The bailiff opened the doors to the courtroom. "Please make your way back to the defense bench. The judge and prosecution are ready for the next witness."

Athena stood up and did her best to square her shoulders. "I'm fine," she said to herself, more than Apollo.

Apollo nodded anyway. "You're fine."

* * *

"Let us reconvene." The judge settled in his chair. "Can the next witness please take the stand?"

Athena watched as Adam took to the stand. He looked nervous.

"Name and occupation." Simon sounded bored, but deliberately so. Athena saw this for herself many times.

"Adam Austin," he said. "Mechanic."

"Alright." The judge cleared his throat. "What will you be testifying about today?"

Adam swallowed. "I was there," he said at last. "On the road, at least. Near the crash. I saw when Aly was attacked."

The gallery erupted. The judge got it under control with a bang of his gavel. Athena looked at Apollo and he was frowning, his eyebrows creasing in thought.

"You saw the moment of the murder?"

Adam shook his head. "No, Your Honor. Just before."

"Strange," Apollo muttered under his breath.

For once, Athena picked up his exact line of thinking. "He knows Aly too? Even with how much younger she is?"

"Exactly." Apollo's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the witness. Adam couldn't meet his eyes; Athena knew from personal experience how intense his glare could be. But, she couldn't blame Apollo for being so suspicious. Their own client hung up the phone instead of discussing this witness. What was he hiding? What were they _both_ hiding?

"For the sake of the defense and their conspiracy theories, I'd like the witness to testify his movements for that night first." Simon said, his arms straight by his sides. "If Your Baldness approves."

"Okay, seriously." Athena turned to him. "What happened to Your Honor?"

Simon didn't answer. He just looked back at her with a devil-may-care expression. The judge dodged this line of questioning, obviously cowed by the last time he challenged it.

"Does the defense have any objections?"

Athena thought for a moment. Did she?

"Blackquill's mocking us," Apollo muttered under his breath.

Athena held Simon's eye for a whole longer, chewing her lip while thinking. It was the first time he actually looked directly at her in this court, and in a strange way, it comforted her. The defiant look faded from him, replaced by a stoic calm that she herself felt when she first began the court session. Simon may have started with sketchy testimony, but there was a reason Athena requested his presence in the courtroom.

"Defense?"

"None at all, Your Honor," she said, turning towards him. "We can get started whenever the witness is ready."

She thought she heard a chuckle coming from the prosecution's bench.

Adam cleared his throat. "I was standing at the turn of the road-"

"Hold it!" Athena walked up to the bench. "Can you point on this map?"

Adam jumped at first, but relaxed when he saw the piece of paper. "Uh... right about there, I would say. He pointed at the turn that came closest to the Space Center. Athena took note of it with the classic red dot. "I remember because I saw lights."

"Did you see anything else?" Athena made her way back to the bench.

"Well, smoke, obviously," Adam scratched his neck. "There was a fire, wasn't there?"

"That was discussed, yes," Simon said. He might as well have patted the witness on the head and said 'Good job,' with how mocking and bored his voice sounded. "Of course, no one here is going to tell you what you saw."

"Wow," Apollo muttered. "Big fan of his own witness already."

"Witness, you may continue your testimony," the judge said.

Adam cleared his throat. "It was pouring down rain, but I could still see okay thanks to the lights. There were two shadows near the edge of the trees."

"Hang on." Athena tapped the bench with her fingertips. "Why were you outside in the pouring rain in the first place?"

Adam sighed. "My piece-of-junk car. The tire blew out and I had to change it to the spare I had. I was soaked to the bone."

"Quite handy that you're a mechanic already!" The judge smiled. "I wouldn't know the first thing to do in that position."

 _How long have you been on this planet, Your Honor?_

"Back on topic..." Athena drawled. "So you're saying that you were changing a tire in the rain, and then saw the shadows and smoke?"

Adam hesitated for only a moment. "Yes."

"Athena," Apollo murmured.

"I know." Athena narrowed her eyes at the witness. He didn't seem nervous at all when she questioned him at the shop. In fact, he was confident. But he was a completely different person up at the stand. His voice cracked like fissures; and Athena didn't need Apollo to see he was shaking.

"Well, that's odd." Athena put both hands on her hips. "There is no record of you calling the authorities. Unless the prosecution has knowledge of such a call?"

Simon's impassive face broke for just a second, and she could have sworn she saw a whisper of a smile. "There is no record of this witness calling 911 or any other authorities, no. He failed in his basic civil duty." The smile turned menacing. "It seems this witness insists on wasting the court's time."

"But my tire did blow out," Adam said. "I have proof. You can look in my car. I still have the tire and everything."

"The prosecution can confirm this," Simon said, sounding bored.

"That's not the problem," Athena said. "This fire didn't burn for very long. It was dark, not surprising since it was in the middle of the night, and pouring down rain. And you're saying you saw shadows?"

A spark of defiance lit in Adam's eyes. "Yes. They headed towards the Space Center. I know because I heard footsteps."

"Over the rainfall?" Athena asked.

"They weren't exactly quiet about it," Adam snapped.

"Touchy, touchy," Apollo said, and Athena wanted to laugh at him. All Athena had to do to get a similar reaction out of Apollo was to put him in the vicinity of Klavier Gavin. "Ask him what he personally did."

"When you saw shadows, what did you do?"

Adam took a deep breath. "My cell phone had died. So I went back into town to find an officer."

Athena heard the static blast in her ears. "Prosecution," she said immediately. "Maybe you could answer a question for me. When was there a report about the accident?"

"There were two separate reports. The earlier one is classified, although I can confirm it wasn't the witness. The second was anonymous," Simon replied, folding his arms. "One was approximately fifteen minutes after the accident. The other was about forty-five minutes." His mouth twisted around the feather. "For the defense's information, the town is about half an hour away."

"So that matches up," Apollo said. "But why two calls? Did someone else see it?"

Athena had a feeling what the answer was. It was in the wee hours of the night, and not many cars would be out there in weather like the rain. But she couldn't prove anything.

"I assume you're saying that you made the call 45 minutes after the incident?" Athena asked.

Adam hesitated. "I'd rather not say."

A screech echoed in her ears again.

"Your Honor." Athena tilted her head. "With all due respect, this witness is a nervous wreck."

"What are you talking about?" Adam sputtered, but she ignored him.

"Something is scaring him here," she said. "I don't know what it is, but I don't think this testimony is going to benefit the prosecution or the defense."

"Just because the information isn't giving you your answers doesn't mean it's not a boon to the prosecution," Simon said with a deliberate laziness. "You can keep me out of this one."

"Can you even prove who witnessed the incident?"

Simon glared at her. "I can, yes."

Athena faltered, but regained her courage from a source she didn't understand. "Then I hope he gets to the part where Caden killed Aly quickly, then. Because the conditions sound like he didn't see anything of the sort."

Apollo let out a low whistle. "Nice one, Athena."

Athena felt herself reeling. Where did _that_ come from? She could even see a trace of a smile coming from Simon, a real one.

"Well, since the defense insists on throwing a fit about this, let's take it from the beginning, shall we?" Simon was back to the harsh words, but this time Athena didn't flinch. "Adam, what exactly did you see?"

"I don't want to be interrupted again," Adam said flatly.

Athena had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Fine. She would stay quiet.

"Wishful thinking, that," Simon said. "You're in a court of law. Buck up."

Adam glared at Athena, probably because he didn't have the courage to try the same thing with Simon. Athena's opinion of this witness deteriorated by the minute, and she wondered where the confident, calmer, _kinder_ man from yesterday came from. "Like I said, I saw shadows in the flame. I then heard running."

"Hold it!" Athena leaned forward on her hands. "I apologize for the interruption, but how did you know they were running?"

"I heard twigs snapping and rustling of leaves, and it happened pretty quickly. I guess they started running in the woods."

"And then what happened?" The judge leaned forward in his chair. He always treated these trials like thriller novels, even after being at it for so long.

"I heard a gunshot," Adam said. "I panicked. I hid in my car, and..." He trailed off for a moment, and then seemed to gain courage. "But I forgot to turn my headlights off, and I saw Caden's face when he got back to his car."

"And how did appear?"

"Nervous. Scared."

"Like you are now?"

"Objection," Simon said, straightening. "Don't harry my witness on the court's time. It's not relevant to the task at hand."

"Objection sustained. Please be objective, defense."

"They have a point," Apollo murmured. "That was a low blow, Athena."

"I know, I know." Athena's cheeks were bright red, she was sure, but she focused on the witness. "But there has to be a reason he's acting like this."

"You're going to have to find a different way in," Apollo said. "If we keep on him with questions and contradictions, he'll crack. They always do."

Athena sighed. She knew he was right. "It's just that they're not going to let me use the Mood Matrix on him if I don't have a valid reason why. Witnesses are often nervous. That's not a good enough reason."

"Then find one. You're the psychiatrist."

"Psychologist."

"Whatever."

The judge had his eyes narrowed in their direction, but Simon seemed to ignore their chatter. "Did you see Caden with a body? Or even a second person?"

Adam thought for a moment. "No," he said at last. "He was alone. I'm sure he was. He got into the car and sped off."

"I see," Simon said. "Thank you."

Athena gritted her teeth. _But wait a minute..._

"Witness, can you point on the map where you were at the time of the incident? Your car, I mean? Where the tire blew out?"

Adam poured over the map. "Here," he said at last, pointing at one of the S curves of the road. "Along there. Right near the rail."

"Objection!" Athena thundered, pointing to the witness. "You've had plenty of light sources. The fire, and your headlights would have been shining directly into the woods. I think you saw these two people, and you just don't want to tell us who."

"This is the woods we're talking about here," Simon said. "The trees can easily block vision of people."

"They'd have to be deep in the woods for that to be possible," Athena shot back. "And the road is a decent ways away from the woods, and the Space Center. It was also pouring rain. If this witness heard rustling and twigs snapping, the two people must have been very close. At the edge of the woods, I would say."

Simon gritted his teeth. "Then answer me this, defense: what does this mean? Is it relevant that he saw Caden and Alexandra in the woods or not? The result is the same."

"It brings up the question why he didn't just say that," Athena said. "Why didn't he say who he saw in the woods? It would only help the prosecution, don't you think?"

"That's conjecture," Adam ground out. "I didn't see, okay?"

 _Why is he still insisting on that?_

"Witness, I would tread carefully," the judge said. "If you didn't see them, we need a better reason why you didn't."

"I was working on my tire-"

"I assume you looked up when you heard the noises," Athena said. "Your Honor, this isn't going anywhere."

"Okay, okay!" Adam said. "I saw them, yes, are you happy?"

Apollo narrowed his eyes and rubbed his wrist. Athena watched him for a moment, and then rocked back on her heels.

"Let me get this straight," Athena said. "You saw Caden and Alexandra in the woods?"

Adam hesitated. "Yes."

The blast in her ears told her everything she needed to know. Well, _almost_ everything. Apollo rested his hand around his wrist, just below the bracelet.

"Witness," Apollo said lightly, "do you mind repeating what you just said?"

Adam gave him a strange look. "Are you people insane?"

"Just do it."

Simon's glare seemed to bore into the side of her head. But Athena's mood was as dark as his at this point. "Prosecutor Blackquill, if I see a hawk over here for anything other than snacks, we're going to have a problem."

Simon snorted, but he didn't move.

Adam's confusion caused his words to come out in stutters. "I saw Caden and Aly-"

"Gotcha!" Apollo crossed his arms with a smug grin. "Your fingers started tapping the stand when you mentioned Alexandra's name."

"So what?" Adam growled. "Is this how you treat all witnesses?"

Apollo ignored him. "I'm going to assume that Aly wasn't the one with Caden in the woods. At least, not the one you saw."

 _Huh!_ Athena put her hands on her hips. "Who was it, Adam?"

"I told you, it was Aly-"

But Athena was already back in the hospital room with Caden, remembering what he said. Alexandra was originally sitting in the front seat, until she switched places with...

"It was Lily Jacobs, wasn't it?" Athena said.

Adam's face went white.

"Why would Lily Jacobs be in the woods with Caden, defense?" Simon asked. "It would make more sense for it to be Alexandra."

"Lily Jacobs wasn't initially in the front seat of the car. Alexandra was," Athena said. "At some point, the two switched for whatever reason."

"What?" The word was venom. "What are you talking about?"

"But Adam said that Caden left alone, and Lily was found in the scene of the accident," Apollo said. "How does that work?"

 _Ay ay ay..._ Athena felt a headache beginning to form.

"This is insane," Apollo muttered. "None of this makes sense."

Athena was already staring at Adam, who started fidgeting again. Something about this whole case made him uncomfortable, even though he was prepared to be a witness just yesterday. He was so cool, so calm... and now...

She couldn't question Simon. He would never let her, not with all their problems as of late. And he was already convinced that people thought they were working together. That wouldn't work. She only had her own questions in her arsenal, those based on emotion. She just had to hope the judge wouldn't derail her line of questioning.

"Witness, I noticed you call Alexandra 'Aly,'" Athena said. "I feel like that's something you shouldn't know unless you knew the victim personally."

Adam didn't answer for a moment. "That shouldn't be a surprise," Adam said at last. "I already told you and Prosecutor Blackquill I knew Caden. And Caden and Aly were basically attached at the hip."

"I asked the defendant about you, and he immediately hung up the phone," Athena said. "Is there bad blood between the two of you?"

Adam's fists clenched.

"Are you going somewhere in this line of questioning, defense?"

"I believe she's arriving at the point somewhere in the near future, Your Honor," Simon said.

Something in his voice sent a jolt up her arms. _Do not look at him_ , she thought to herself. She had done enough of that all trial. "Since you won't answer that one, what about Lily Jacobs? Do you know her?"

"Not well."

No blast of static that time.

"He's not lying," Athena murmured. She turned her attention back to Adam. "Then why did you lie? Why did you say it was Ms. Ford and not Lily Jacobs? What's to gain from that?"

"That is irrelevant." Adam ground out. "Caden is the one who murdered Aly. I know nothing about Lily. Nothing else matters."

"It matters a great deal, witness," Athena snapped. "If Lily was the one with Caden in the woods and not Aly, then her murder could have been somewhere else, by _someone_ else."

"He's the one," Adam snarled.

"Your Honor, this is going nowhere," Athena said, looking up to the judge's bench. "The witness is a mess."

"Hmm," the judge murmured. "And you wish to do a therapy session, I assume?"

"That is what I'd recommend, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "I see. Well, I can't say I didn't see it coming. Prosecution, what's your say on the matter?"

Athena tensed, her shoulders up to her ears. She could tell Simon was deliberately not looking at her. She wondered if he was thinking about when she showed up unannounced to his apartment, after bothering Aura for his address. She showed Widget to him, part by part, process by process, without a single thought to how it could affect them in court. She should have felt so mindless, so _stupid_. She even went to the Chief Prosecutor to ask if Simon could be the prosecutor in her trials. This wasn't like him sitting in the gallery, quiet and unassuming, a solid force she could rely on. He made that abundantly clear all trial.

A bitter anger rose like bile in her stomach. She regretted nothing, but with him acting like this...

"I think the prosecution has made it clear what he thinks about the defense's direction in this trial," Athena said.

Simon's eyes snapped to her, and his eyes were like mirrors. Athena almost flinched back from them, but she managed to stand her ground.

"Athena," Apollo said, alarm seeping into his voice, "I would advise against poking a sleeping bear with a stick."

She ignored him. "The prosecution seems content ignoring emotions all trial, so if we could just get on with the cross-examination –"

A whistle tore the air so gently, Athena wondered if she was going crazy. One of Taka's feathers fell towards her bench from above, and right at her nose, the slice of air felled it in two.

She shrieked, stumbling backwards.

"The defense insists on being petty when this is a battlefield where _adults_ hold swords, so I will say this just once," Simon said, pitched low. "If the defense wishes to use parlor tricks and magic acts to stumble its way to victory as this law agency is so famed for, then yes, I will have something to say about it. But I have _never_ claimed your ability has been anything but absolute, and I've never contested how invaluable that trinket around your neck actually is."

Athena froze. The gallery exploded.

"What is their deal? I haven't seen anything like this in a trial!"

"I mean, it is Blackquill. And this girl seems kinda petty..."

"But wasn't he nice just there? I mean, for Blackquill?"

"Order!" The gavel banged. "Order in the court!"

Apollo shook his head. "This is a circus."

Athena didn't disagree with him. She couldn't seem to stop shaking.

"I have no idea what's happening anymore," the judge said. "But I suppose I'll take this as permission. Feel free to proceed, Ms. Cykes."

Athena shook her head slowly, as if she were recovering from a blow. Then she pressed the buttons on either side of Widget's face and drew up her screen. Her hands shook as she typed in the login codes, but as the interface loaded, she forced herself to relax. Her focus had to be perfect here. The Mood Matrix began to flash, waiting for her to input the data. The hairs on her arms stood up as the virtual scene opened.

"Let's take it from the top," Athena said. "Why were you in the woods? And go from there."

"I would also like a reason why the witness said Aly was in the woods and not Lily," the judge said.

Athena nodded.

Adam let out a huff of breath, but he began to talk anyway. "My tire blew out, like I said. Along the edge of the road. It was dark, and my phone was dead, and it was pouring down rain. I thought maybe I could go stop by the Space Center, see if they had a flashlight I could use while I fixed my tire or something."

A red light flashed in the corner of Widget's screen.

"Why didn't you mention this?" Simon asked.

Adam shrugged. "Because it was dark. I thought you people wouldn't believe me if I didn't have the help of my headlights. My mistake."

Athena knew from more than just his voice that he was being sarcastic. Still, she held her tongue.

"He's full of it," Apollo murmured. "Such a weak excuse."

Athena thought for a moment. "Well, wait," she said. "Does that mean you came down to the Space Center before the fire started?"

A caught expression fleeted across his face. "Yes," he said at last.

"So, you lied there too," Athena pointed out, but she still plugged in the information into Widget. "The way you testified, you made it sound like the fire was already going by the time your tire blew out."

Adam just stared at her. "I suppose so," he said at last.

Athena could have sworn she heard a sigh coming from the prosecution bench.

"Witness, you have told quite a few lies to this court," the judge said.

Adam looked away.

But Athena didn't want him charged with perjury just yet. "May I continue, Your Honor?"

The judge looked at her for a long moment before nodding.

"Okay, so you went down to the Space Center to get help," Athena pushed him. "Then what?"

Adam gritted his teeth. "No one answered, so I turned back to my car. I hurried because of the rain."

The blue was so intense it lit up Athena's face.

 _Fear would be natural,_ she reminded herself. She caught the light glow of red, probably frustration. That made sense too. But...

She had to check. "You were afraid because you couldn't find anyone, right?" Athena tried her best to keep her voice soothing. "And that it was dark, and raining?"

Adam stared at her, and she couldn't blame him. She had been pretty ruthless in the cross-examining phase, and now she was playing the role of a therapist.

"Yes," he said at last. "My phone, too. It dying and all."

She almost missed it.

Green flashed in the corner of her screen.

Apollo was looking over her shoulder, and she watched as his eyebrows shot up. "What the?"

"We don't have enough information at this point," Athena murmured to him. Louder, she added, "I'm sensing quite a bit of fear, Mr. Austin. Is there anything else?"

"No."

Static ripped through her ears.

"I went back up to the road, and I turned on my headlights," Adam said. "I needed them to see if I was going to fix my tire. That's when I saw the car in front of me."

Athena opened her mouth, but Simon beat her to it.

"'The?'"

Athena barely had time to blink before Simon struck the bench, loud enough to make everyone jump, and then started laughing.

"Are we supposed to gather on our own that you're discussing Caden's car?" Simon crossed his arms. "You also did not discuss this with me, so I cannot help but wonder if you have a death wish."

To Athena's surprise, Adam met his eyes with a calm he didn't have all trial. "Caden shot Aly. That's all that matters to me. And that's all that should matter to you."

Athena's eyebrows shot up. Either he didn't know he was playing a dangerous game, or he was stupid. Didn't he see Simon shoot an air blade in her direction?

But Simon didn't so much as blink at the witness. Instead, he tilted his head in her direction, and jerked it back at Adam. Athena expected Taka to arrive, to harass her or something, but the bird was nowhere in sight. It was a subtle move.

 _Is he trusting me with this?_

"Okay," Athena began, but her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "Okay, you saw Caden's car. What then?"

"Apparently whoever I saw were already in the woods," Adam said. "I guess I just didn't notice them. But I heard them make a racket when I was up on the road."

Widget didn't glow any color.

Simon scoffed. "You heard them up there, but not when you were right next to it?"

"I was distracted," Adam said. "I was focusing on something else."

"Like what?" Athena prompted.

Adam just looked at her, and she sighed. "Come on. Do you really think none of us were going to ask that question?"

"It's not relevant."

"This is my session, Mr. Austin." Athena leaned on her hands. "I'll deem if it's relevant or not."

To her amazement, the judge didn't cut her off, and neither did Simon.

Adam let out a huff of air. "Fine. A friend called in a favor. The paint on his car was chipped. I had to drive down there, and then my tire went flat, and then my phone died... yeah. It was a great night, don't you think?"

Athena ignored his sarcasm. "Did you ever make your appointment?"

"Of course not."

Widget didn't react, and neither did her ears. _Interesting._ Nothing to indicate frustration, or anything of the like.

Apollo shifted next to her, and then he let in a sharp intake of breath. Athena was about to ask him what was wrong, but he spoke before she could.

"Quick question, Mr. Austin," Apollo said with a fake casualness, but Athena could hear a storm in his throat. "Did you bring the supplies for the job with you?"

"What?"

"You might have gotten a ride from someone at the Center, or a taxi, and you would still need your supplies," Apollo clarified. "Is that what you were distracted from? Maybe you carried them down with you?"

Adam shrugged. "I mean, yeah. I didn't know what was about to happen. I had tubs of paint and paint thinner, so I brought one of each. I was pretty strapped for cash."

Athena couldn't breathe for a moment.

"Did you say paint thinner?" Athena asked in a strangled voice.

"Yeah. My friend's car was chipped so badly that sometimes you have to remove an entire stretch of paint and start over. I brought both, just in case." Adam stared at her. "Did I say something wrong?"

Simon burst out laughing. The sound was a stark contrast to the silence in the room, like machine gun fire.

"I must be missing something," the judge said. "As usual. Anyone care to fill me in?"

Athena had to work her jaw to get the words out. "The fire. It was started with an accelerant." She shifted her feet. "Paint thinner, to be precise."

Adam's face went white.

"Take pity on the simple mistakes, even if they are foolish," Simon said, once he composed himself. "Most arsonists are under the impression that every sign of their crime disappear with the flames. Woe onto you, witness."

"No," Adam stuttered. "That- that can't be –"

The gallery roared.

"I will have order!" The judge banged his gavel. "I will start expelling people if I have to. Mr. Austin, were you the one who started the fire?"

"I think it's pretty obvious at this point!" Athena protested. "And that throws his first testimony completely out the window."

"And what of your Mood Matrix, Miss Cykes?"

She was ready for him. "He showed extreme fear when walking towards the Space Center. This can easily be explained if he feared being caught. Then I got a happiness reading when he told about his phone not working. Also good, if he couldn't be reached while starting a _fire._ " She checked her readings. "No surprise when he heard Caden and Lily in the woods. In fact, he didn't register any emotion at all." She slammed her palms on the bench. "Plenty of reason to reassess what this witness is even doing here, Your Honor. And what crimes he's actually guilty of."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Adam ground out.

She glared at him. "I think you know exactly what it means-"

"SILENCE!"

Athena whipped her head in Simon's direction, but Taka's screech got her attention first. The bird's wings flapped over her head, and then a heavy object slammed next to her hands.

Any objection died in her throat. "Is that a recorder?"

"Very astute, Miss Cykes." Simon spun a new feather in his mouth. "Hopefully, I will not have to prompt you to remember that the Police Department received two calls regarding the night's crime, not just the one of our ill-fated witness."

Athena frowned before comprehension dawned on her. "You mean...?"

"We ran a number search for both calls, obviously. One matched a telephone booth in the city. The other matched Lily Jacobs."

Athena started, and then took a deep breath. "Do you have a record of the call, then? Is that what you're telling me?"

"Naturally," Simon said with a wicked smile. "And I do promise you, it means nothing good for your end of things."

Before Athena could respond, he requested the bailiff to play the recording.

 _"911, what is your emergency?"_

There was no response at first except for heavy breathing. It didn't sound like the gasping of running. It sounded like the choked sounds of fear.

 _"Hello?"_

Another pause.

 _"No!"_ A woman's voice screamed, so suddenly that Athena jumped. The emotions in her voice came clear, even through a phone. Fear, surprise, and rage. _"No! You can't! Stop!"_

Everyone in the courtroom jumped as a gunshot fired through the static of the call. An echo of shattering followed, and then screams.

Then silence. The 911 responder must have known to keep her mouth shut, focus on triangulating the call instead.

 _"Aly,"_ a male voice breathed. _"Why did you...?"_

A crunch of metal and plastic ended the call.

"The assumption is that the phone used for the call was destroyed around that time," Simon said, as if he didn't listen to someone being murdered. To be fair, he probably listened to the recording a few times. "Voice analysis confirms the female voice as Alexandra Ford and the male voice as Caden Barrow."

Athena couldn't speak.

"I would suggest you give it up," Simon said. "You found our little arsonist, and for that I thank you, but the evidence is stacked against the defendant. I also haven't heard any conclusive evidence that Caden didn't shoot the defendant."

She clenched her fists. "Adam looks plenty suspicious to me," she replied. "For all we know, he killed Aly."

"Is that so?" Simon drawled. "Can you produce the evidence he did? Can you even show some that even suggests such a thing?"

Widget began to fade to black.

"Athena," Apollo urged.

Athena could barely hear him. She instead heard Aly's screams, Caden's broken voice, the roar of flames she wasn't present for, and of course, she saw her mother's blood. She hugged herself. Was Simon right? She couldn't be prepared for something like this. Something that was so close to home, a shattered home she couldn't rebuild. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Why did you hide that recording?" Adam shouted. "You – all along –"

Simon's harsh laugh made Athena flinch. "Are you still talking? I needed you to confirm Caden was in the woods. That is all. You are the one that insisted on shooting yourself in the foot."

"But –"

"You aren't my problem anymore," Simon told him, and Athena's eyes shot open. She couldn't let this continue. She couldn't stand any of it anymore: Caden, Adam, and especially Simon.

But... what could she do?

"Athena," Apollo said. "This is actually really good."

"How could this possibly be good?" Athena hissed, but Widget was already turning from black to yellow. "We're in a corner?"

"Yup," Apollo said, turning towards the witness stand. "But that's where we can do the most damage. That call is damning, but it's also very vague."

Athena thought about it.

"You need to prove that the murder might not have happened in the woods," Apollo said. "Because if it didn't, that makes this witness's entire testimony meaningless. It wouldn't matter if he saw Caden, Aly, or Lily there. And Mr. Austin has so much against him at this point."

"That's what I've been trying to do," Athena said. "This whole trial."

"The call confirms that Aly and Caden were in proximity of each other when she was shot," Apollo said. "But there can be an explanation for that. Check the court record."

She bit her lip. He must have already found something.

 _But what?_

She scanned through the autopsy report. The record of the call. Adam's testimony. The glass Apollo found. The bullet and cartridge. The crime photo. A picture of the road, littered with glass, and...

"The defense has not adequately proven their case," the judge said. "I am ready to make my ruling-"

"Hold it!"

Simon didn't look surprised in the least. The judge raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"I have proof the gun was fired in a different location," Athena said.

"What does that matter?" Simon said.

Athena turned towards him, calm. "How many rounds did the gun fire?"

He stared at her long enough for her to have her answer. "One."

She nodded. "I would like to turn the court's attention to the picture of the road, with glass from the car."

"What about it?" the judge asked.

"Right here." She pointed to piece of glass with black smudging. "The window on the side of the passenger seat was intact, because Lily was killed when she hit her head on it. But that smudging is from a point blank shot from the gun."

"That smudging can be from anything," Simon said, waving his hand dismissively. "You-"

Athena looked up at him. "Did you even test it?"

He didn't answer.

Athena sighed. "Ema?"

Ema rocked back on her heels. "I tested the glass. It is from a bullet. We just found enough evidence in the woods to deem it unrelated."

"Unrelated, how?" Apollo blurted. "It is a _bullet hole._ "

Ema shrugged. "Ask him." She pointed at Simon, in her fearless way. "He told me not to mention it."

Athena's jaw began to ache.

Ema straightened. "Again, though, there's enough evidence in the woods to say otherwise-"

"Not anymore." Athena couldn't disguise her fury. "Your witness is unreliable. Lily was seen in the woods, not Alexandra." She had to bite her tongue from saying anything more. She couldn't look at Simon. How could he? How _could_ he?

"Even if it is from a gunshot, what does it prove?" the judge asked.

"Aly was originally in the front seat of the vehicle," Athena said. "I would say murder is a viable reason to make a switch, don't you?"

"Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that Aly was killed there," Simon said calmly, arms crossed. "What does that change?"

"Play the recording again," Athena said.

The gunshot blared, but Athena wasn't listening for that. She was listening for the voices. She plugged the information in Widget.

"The voices are equally distant from the phone that recorded this," Athena said. "Whoever made this call must have put the phone on speaker, otherwise we wouldn't have heard anything. But if Aly was shot inside the car, then Caden was inside the car too."

A vein in Simon's neck bulged. He finally understood.

"What does that mean?"Adam spoke up.

"The bullet hole on the windshield is an entry point," Athena said. "The smudging is only possible if the gun's muzzle is resting on the glass, or at least very close. Alexandra Ford was hit in the right temple, which meant she likely was turning towards Caden when she was screaming."

Adam went white. "But... but if she was screaming like that, then Caden must be guilty of something-"

"That's not what I'm here to argue." Athena could no longer hide the hatred and fury from her voice, for almost everyone in this courtroom. "I'm here to defend Caden from the murder of Alexandra Ford. And she was shot outside the car, not inside it. A third party shot her while the two of them were arguing."

"That's conjecture," Adam snarled.

"It's plausible," Apollo countered.

"And it proves that this case needs more investigating," Athena said. "In the meantime, we did prove that you were the one that started the fire. That will need to be investigated too."

To her surprise, Adam began to laugh.

It was not a happy one, but it didn't sound like Simon's either. This was full-mounted hysteria, and he dug his fingertips into his arms until the skin turned white.

"Do you think you've won?" he yelled at her. "Do you?"

Athena took a step back.

"You have _no idea_ what you're up against!" Adam boomed at her. "Do you think I care about being arrested? About anything except getting that bastard what he deserves?"

"Bailiff, arrest this man!"

"Caden Barrow shot Aly," Adam snarled, his fists banging the stand. "And if you find the truth, if you figure out everything what this mess is, you'll wish that truth was the only one. You'll wish you had never taken this case."

Widget cried blue. Athena hugged herself, and she backed away until her back hit something solid.

"He knows!" Adam screamed, pointing towards Simon. "You know! You know!"

"Take him away," Simon said, his voice carefully even.

Adam's screams transformed back into laughter as the bailiff wrenched him away towards the big, yawning courtroom doors.

* * *

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you okay?"

It was an excellent question.

Athena found herself doing ridiculous things, like checking her hair, straightening her clothes, pulling at anything out of place. It was laughable, considering they were back in the safety of the defendant's lobby. Day one of the court session was over. There was no one watching.

"I don't know," she responded to Apollo's question.

"A lot happened," he said slowly, scratching the back of his head. He wasn't playing it off entirely successfully. His face was pale. "I have never had a witness snap quite like that. And Blackquill..." he trailed off.

"I don't know what to do," Athena said. "I don't even know where to start." She sank into the same overstuffed chair.

Apollo flopped into the chair next to hers. "I think we should take a deep breath." It was the first time she heard his voice shake. "Both of us. Together."

Big huffs of air were the only sound in the lobby for a minute. Athena remembered studying abroad in Germany, when she was about fifteen years old, where the icy air stung her lungs and snow piled so high it threatened to seep in her snow boots. _Saukalt,_ a fellow student called that particular winter. The kids, including Athena, blew air into the freezing temperatures. Watched as their hot breaths turned into steam, and then slowly dispersed upwards like spirits.

Even in the comfortable defense lobby, Athena shivered.

"Okay, first things first," Apollo said, and she nearly groaned at the interruption. "We need to talk to Caden."

Athena frowned. "What about Adam?"

"They just arrested him, so he's probably in questioning."

"Oh, yeah." Athena held her temples. "That's right."

"I'd like to know what's going on there," Apollo said. "Did he really try to set the Space Center on fire? And if he did..."

Athena straightened, and changed the subject. "We also need to go back to the crime scene, especially the road. Take another look."

Apollo frowned. "Why? I think we proved where the victim was shot."

"The call," Athena replied. "Simon said that the phone was broken, and that's why the call ended. We need to find that phone, and see who exactly made the call."

Apollo nodded.

"Not to mention if Caden didn't murder Alexandra, we need to find out who did," Athena added. "Circumstantial evidence isn't good enough if we don't even have another suspect."

"I'm starting to think it was Adam, honestly. He was there, tried to set the Space Museum on fire, and obviously has some sort of vendetta against Caden. Sounds like a revenge murder to me."

Athena didn't reply. She still needed to review his Mood Matrix, but his emotions were so unpredictable. So scared. His frenzy to prove Caden guilty felt more than just revenge. Adam was terrified of something else. Something bigger. And she didn't believe for a second that he murdered Aly.

"It might be best to start talking to families, too," Apollo said, not seeming to notice her silence. "Caden's mother, for example. You said she acted weird, right?"

Athena had forgotten about her. "That's right," she said. "Good idea."

They sat in silence for a little while longer, before she stood up. "Caden first," she said, trying to make her tone as businesslike as possible.

"Okay."

As they left the doors, Athena's feelings swirled in a maelstrom in her stomach. The sun shone bright, and as the morning progressed, chirps and the flapping of wings darted through her ears. Not a soul stood outside the courtroom as they made their way towards Athena's car. She had no right to be disappointed. But she was.

Apollo was smart enough to not say a word as they loaded into her car and drove towards the hospital.

* * *

When they arrived, Athena realized they had been lucky, when they visited Caden earlier in the morning. She also remembered that she hated, _hated_ hospitals.

It was her hearing. People stampeded the pristine, white hallways. Nurses accompanied stretchers and disappeared behind doorways. The sick huddled on chairs, coughing into distributed white masks. Even the cafe had an air of misery, from dazed and upset family members talking too loudly in line.

Apollo walked to the desk. It took Athena a minute to catch up, with the moans and whimpers and mechanical noises infiltrating her ears like a whirlpool's brew.

"We need to speak with Caden Barrow," she heard Apollo say.

"For what reason?" The nurse didn't look up from the clipboards she was filling out. She was much younger than the nurse who helped them that morning. She scribbled signatures while pressing the hold button on the telephone.

"We are his lawyers," Athena cut in. "His trial was today, and-"

The nurse stood up, reached over the desk, and yelled a name.

"We need to discuss it with him," she finished.

She pointed the patient towards the hallway. "I'll need to look up his file," she said, settling behind a keyboard. "Give me one moment."

"Sure," Athena said, but it wasn't necessary.

"Ah." She moved so quickly. Apollo's eyebrows were halfway up his forehead. "I remember now. Mr. Barrow won't be seeing any other visitors today."

"What?" Apollo leaned forward on the desk. "Why?"

"I'm not authorized to say," she said. She continued typing, the keys blending in with the footsteps around them. "I only know we can't allow any visitors."

"Did he have another setback?" Athena demanded. "Like I said, his trial was today. We only have two days left to prove his innocence, max. Is there any way an exception could be made, or something?"

The nurse took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No," she said at last. "I'm sorry."

"Then tell us why," Apollo cut in. "Is he unconscious, or something?"

"I'm not supposed to say this, but it's the client's specific request," she said. "We have to honor it."

"Even if the guests are his lawyers?"

The girl hesitated again, and Athena could see bright eyes and dark circles. She wasn't as immune as she looked to the chaos around them. A baby began to cry, and Athena could detect a slight wince in her throat. "He said _especially_ not his lawyers."

Athena took in a sharp inhale. Apollo slammed his fist on the desk, causing the poor girl to jump.

"Are you-"

"Apollo," Athena hissed. "Enough."

"I can't say any more," she said. "I could get in a lot of trouble."

Athena was flabbergasted. Was it their phone call earlier? What on earth happened between the two of them? The calm Adam who lost it in the court room, and the critically injured Caden who lost someone he deeply cared about. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the link between the two of them.

"Let's go to the crime scene," she told Apollo.

"But-"

Athena rose one shoulder, dropped it. "There's nothing we can do."

They turned to leave, facing a lobby of the sick and injured. Athena tried to keep her eyes on the clear sliding doors.

"Wait!"

They turned back around.

"I just found a note in his file," the nurse said, renewing her typing speed. "I think it's for you. I'll print it out."

A minute later, she handed a piece of paper in their direction. Athena took it from her.

"What is it?" Apollo looked over her shoulder.

"They're a list of addresses," Athena said. "And a line. It says ' _You'll need these.'_ "

Apollo shook his head. "And he couldn't just tell us this in person?"

Athena let out a whistle of air in between her teeth. Still, she turned to the nurse. "Thank you."

She nodded before calling out the next name.

Athena waited to say anything regarding Caden and the piece of paper until they were out of hospital. They passed glazed eyes, coughing, and pale faces and when the double doors opened and closed behind them, Athena finally relaxed. She could still hear the rolling of stretchers and instructions hollered, but muted. She didn't notice that her shoulders were hiked up towards her ears until she finally relaxed.

"Hold on a sec," she told Apollo, turning on Widget. "I recognize this first address, just don't know from where... Ah. It's his mother's."

"This one is the same street." Apollo pointed to the next address on the list. "Didn't they both mention that Caden and Alexandra grew up as neighbors?"

Athena nodded. She didn't recognize the third address. "Then, who is this?"

Apollo shrugged. "Beats me. I wish we could ask him. Or that he could have labeled them, at least."

Athena thought for a moment. She clutched the paper until it creased from the pressure, the crinkling audibly in the pleasant breeze. "I don't like this, Apollo."

"Tell me about it." Apollo stared out onto the open street. "If there's one way to make people think you're guilty, it's to shut your own lawyers out."

Athena had to hold back a flinch. "Did we make a mistake?" she asked, before she could hold the words back.

Apollo looked at her for a long time, considering. Athena carefully folded the wrinkled paper and put it in her purse.

"We have to remember what you heard, and what I saw," Apollo said at last. "When Caden said he didn't kill Aly..."

Nothing. Silence. Not a twitch or quirk to be found.

Athena nodded. "Right."

They looked out on the open road. Athena found herself craving orange juice, the way she usually did when restlessness settled into her bones like a familiar tourist. She stretched her arms towards the sky.

"Well, I want to go to the Space Center first," she told Apollo. "I have questions for Aura, we need to find that phone, and I have a feeling that Caden's mother is going to be an adventure."

* * *

New lines of caution tape blocked off the section of the curve of the road, and looking down at the Space Center, the site of the fire was swarming with people on the scene. Athena didn't see Simon anywhere, but she had no doubt he was here. They pulled up to a line of cars protesting with horns and yelling out of their windows, and they began to U-turn back down the road. Athena waited until the nose of her car touched the caution tape, and then she turned off the ignition and opened the car door. Apollo followed suit.

"Hey." Ema was the first to greet her. "What's up?"

"I assume you found something?" Athena ducked under the yellow tape. "There are people everywhere."

"Oh yeah. Blackquill works fast," Ema replied. "I'm allowed to actually show you this, so that's cool."

Athena followed her to the other side of the road, opposite of the descent to the Space Center. A patch of grass neighbored the street, backed by a wall of rock. Looking closer, Athena found pieces of plastic and metal.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Ema showed her a ziplock bag with what appeared to be the remains of a phone.

"Holy cow," Apollo said.

"It must have been thrown out of the car before the accident," Ema said. The phone was in two pieces, the screen crunched. The decorative case had popped off from sheer force. Purple and pink...

"One of the women?" Apollo suggested.

"The case was one of those two-in-one wallet cases that have been all the rage lately," Ema said, while reaching in the bag. She popped the case open. "Lily had her ID in a little purse that was found on her body, probably because she was going out drinking that night, but we found credit cards in the phone."

She showed the cards to Athena and Apollo. Sure enough, Lily Jacobs' name was in the left corner of both cards.

"So it was Lily who made the call?" Athena said, thinking.

"We don't have concrete proof," Ema said. "This phone is so destroyed that we don't have a hope in hell pulling data from it. But circumstantial evidence is abundant. It's a good thing those cards were there, or this would be a dead end."

Athena nodded. "Well, we do have proof that there was a phone on the scene. And it belonged to Lily."

"That's significant," Ema pointed out. "Lily's movements for that night are pretty unclear. It means she was in the area when Alexandra was shot."

Athena frowned. "Is the prosecution still investigating like Alexandra was shot near the river?"

Ema sighed. "Hell if I know. Prosecutor Blackquill is staying pretty tight-lipped on that subject. I'm just under orders to investigate this part of the road. He's having Gumshoe look over the accident scene with a metal detector, so the good detective is as happy as a clam."

"Naturally," Apollo said. He turned to Athena. "Well?"

"It sounds like he's exploring all possibilities," she said slowly. "So that's good." She turned to Ema. "Is anyone at the Space Center?"

"Other than the swarm at the arson site, no," Ema said. "We're trying to find conclusive proof that Adam started the fire."

"I don't think he's that stupid," Apollo said. "And didn't he already admit to it?"

"Simon's concerned that Mr. Austin is going to plead insanity," Ema said dryly. "And I don't blame him, considering the witness went completely ballistic. They're still struggling with him back at the detention center. He just wants to make sure we're covering all our bases."

Athena nodded. "That makes sense." Her feelings were a maelstrom inside her. He was acting logical, even reasonable. Considering the defense's arguments, his own, and the witness's, all at once. Why wasn't he like that in the courtroom?

"Where is the prosecutor, anyway?" Athena asked. Apollo's eyes narrowed, but she ignored him.

"Talking to Aura, last I heard."

Athena took a deep breath. "Okay. Thank you, Ema."

Without another word, Ema joined the rest of the investigators on the road.

"What are we doing?" Apollo wanted to know. "The lab?"

Athena nearly flinched. Was she really that transparent? "No," she lied. "I want to look at the side of the Space Center. That emblem interests me."

Apollo gave her a side glance, but he let it go. "And then after that?"

Athena sighed. "Probably the lab."

Apollo couldn't help a smirk.

* * *

"¡Que mierda!"

The strange symbol was gone.

"It was here!" she hissed. "It was!"

"I know. I saw it too." Apollo took a few steps forward. "Hey, Athena, look at this."

She caught up with him. Her feet sloshed in the grass, and she almost slipped. She looked behind them. The rain hadn't been hitting hard for the past few days. The lawn leading to the entrance of the Space Center was dry.

Athena stepped a foot back into circle of grass where the symbol used to be. It suctioned to her foot, and then let go with a slurping sound.

Apollo carefully knelt down, just before the wet grass, and smelled it. "Yup, water. Someone flooded this area."

Athena frowned. "Why? The arson site is that way."

"Isn't it obvious?" Apollo straightened. "Whoever did this wanted that symbol gone."

Athena stared out into the field. She wasn't around after the crime eight years ago to see the last symbol flushed away, if it was. While she looked off into the distance, thinking, an object out of place caught her eye. She broke into a jog, carefully navigating over the slippery area.

"Hey, wait up!"

She reached a bucket, splattered with paint. She picked it up carefully, using her glove and as little of her fingers as possible. A harsh, unforgiving stench hit her nostrils. The world spun for a moment, and she had to close her eyes to ward off the fumes.

"What did you do that for – oh."

Athena held up the bucket. "Paint thinner," she said.

Apollo's eyes went wide. "Well, then. Are you sure it's not the paint used to make whatever that symbol is?"

She nodded. "It's the wrong color, first of all, and it smells too horrible."

"We need to get that to Ema, then," Apollo said. "Right away. It might be the clue they're looking for."

"This seems too... easy," Athena said in a halting voice. "The police didn't find any indication of a paint thinner bucket, and now it's here? I don't like this."

Apollo looked in the bucket. "Wait. Athena, what's that?"

Athena looked inside, and something silver caught her eye.

"Don't just pick it up," Apollo said, digging in his pockets. "Give me a sec."

"Did you seriously bring gloves?" Athena asked incredulously.

"Always be prepared," he replied, and he carefully took out a figurine out of the bucket. "Huh. Look at this."

A polished, miniature robotic arm sat on a circular pedestal. It fit easily in Apollo's hand, and Athena looked hard at it.

"That's actually really cool," Athena said. "What do you think it is?"

"I have no idea." Apollo put the figurine back in the bucket. "That's rather odd evidence. And convenient. Things like this never happen."

A maelstrom settled in Athena's chest. She hugged herself. She couldn't put her misgivings into words.

"I'll keep the figurine, but I'll give Ema the bucket," Apollo was saying in the background. "She needs the proof that Adam did this, and I can't imagine it would hurt our case. Are you coming, Athena?"

"I need to look around for a minute," Athena said. "You go on ahead."

Apollo stopped. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Athena said. "I can meet you in the lab, if you want."

Apollo shrugged. "Honestly, if you're going to the lab, I'm probably going to talk with Gumshoe. If they're having him do something, then that means they have a renewed interest in the accident scene."

Athena blinked. "But I thought you were coming with me?"

Apollo shrugged. "It feels like you need to get a few things squared away with Blackquill before we go any further, honestly."

Athena was so taken aback she didn't reply. Her mouth fell open ever so slightly.

Apollo pointed to his temple, near his eyes. "I don't miss much, you know."

It wasn't until he was halfway to the road that she found the words to say. "Yes, you do!" she shouted after him.

He didn't acknowledge her, except for a wave of his hand.

Athena stopped. She couldn't deal with Blackquill right that second. She needed to think. She also walked around the Space Center the other day, and no bucket or figurine was in sight. She supposed she could have missed it, but...

The area had been flooded, and recently. That meant a third party _was_ here, although there wasn't any proof that this was the party responsible for murdering Aly. And then for the extra evidence... was it planted around the same time? Recently?

She walked around, letting her boots sink into the wet grass. Athena wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she knew the feeling too well, from _that_ day: she was being watched.

A rustle of grass made her nervous, the snapping of twigs, the wind combing through trees. She felt crazy, paranoid, but when she stared into the woods, she could have sworn someone was staring right back at her.

Unsettled, she made her way to the entrance of the Space Center.

* * *

Athena let herself into the front doors. No one manned the receptionist area this time, and that wasn't surprising, with all the police attention. She followed the familiar hallways into the lab. How funny, that at the beginning of the case she could barely enter the lab. Now she was in here so often she barely felt the twing at her nerves, although she still couldn't look at the dissembling table. She forced herself to focus, as hard as it was with the case and her memories prying at her nerves.

Aura and Simon were nowhere to be found. The lab was quiet, save for the whirling and spinning of machinery.

But wait. She remembered Caden's notes. Didn't he comment on the large robot?

"Athena! Welcome back to the Space Center!"

She turned around to the door, and she felt herself immediately relax. "Ponco! Hey!"

The robot clambered over with a ringing _twang_ with each step on the steel floor. Athena let go of all previous inhibitions. Every time she saw Ponco the past year, she was accompanied by her boss or Aura or _someone_ ; it occurred to her that they never had one on one time. She knelt down on the ground and gave the little robot a hug.

Ponco's facial sensor turned green. "So happy! Yay!"

Athena laughed. "What's up?"

She could hear Ponco's inner machinery whirl. "Calculating... the ceiling is primarily composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, also known as gypsum. Drywall is often used in –"

"Never mind, cancel request." Athena forgot how literally the Robots with Hearts took questions. "Ponco, do you know where Aura and Simon Blackquill went?"

"I can answer this one too!" Ponco spun out of her embrace. "Miss Aura and Simon went out to check on the front of the Space Center! Miss Aura told me to keep a handle on things here, and she would be right back."

She must have just missed them. Athena found herself wondering if Simon would be back, too, but of course Ponco wouldn't have thought to ask. It was part of her programming to follow orders without question.

Athena looked around the lab. The huge robot was impossible to miss, designed like it would one day take over the world, and welcome as a distraction from the table behind her. Something tugged at the corner of her memory.

 _Robot in the corner. Was meant for HAT-1, but way too big._

She didn't intend on investigating anything in the lab, despite what she told Apollo, but Caden's notes...

"Ponco," she said. "Do you have any information on this robot?"

"Searching database... yes! Yes I do!" Ponco took several strides until she was at the foot of the purple monstrosity, the beast easily dwarfing her. "This was designed as a prototype. Miss Aura and Mommy Cykes were only in the early stages of the Robots with Hearts program, but Mommy Cykes really wanted a robot on the HAT-1. Clonco and this unit were deemed unfit for launch, but a repair robot for the rocket would have been invaluable."

All of this sounded familiar to Athena. "But no robot went on the HAT-1." Would it have made a difference if there was? Or would it have been sabotaged too, and the HAT-1 Miracle would have happened anyway? Athena supposed it would be impossible to know.

"Correct." Ponco whirled in circles, arms high in the air. "Miss Aura was unable to create the proper size in time. It's a very difficult process, getting a robot able to perform drastic repairs and have it come in a good size. But we still have the prototype." Ponco turned back towards the larger machine. "It was one of Mommy Cykes and Miss Aura's last projects together."

That gave Athena pause. She swallowed, hard. Her eyes began to fill, and she swiped at them and asked another question.

"Then why does it... look like that now?"

"Aura has been modifying it ever since the day Mommy Cykes went away," Ponco said, and Athena looked at the ceiling. "It looks nothing like it used to. My database doesn't have any additional information on the subject."

Athena didn't need it. The question made her inner psychologist leap into hyperdrive. The dark purple body that matched Aura's hair, the painted eyes, the spiked wrecking ball and other weapons of destruction. She was channeling all of her anger and hatred as well as destroying all traces of her mother at the same time.

It gave her chills. For a long time, a lot of that hatred was pointed towards Athena.

"It's even bigger than it used to be," Ponco added. "Miss Aura laughs a lot when she makes modifications."

And yeah, okay, the older Blackquill probably wanted to take over the world with it too.

Athena gave it a long look. "Hey Ponco, do you think there's a way to get inside the robot? Considering how big it is, and how much wiring and paneling it has?"

"There is! There is!" Ponco tromped towards the back. "There's a latch here. Miss Aura has to use it when things go wrong with turning it on."

Athena reached for the familiar latch. Aura's designs were consistent across the board: Widget had a similar latch for charging him, and Ponco and Clonco had them for repair reasons. Smaller, of course, but replicas all the same. It came undone easily in her hands, the metal panel falling to the floor with an echoing bang.

"I'll be right back, Ponco," she told the little robot.

"Okay!"

As expected, the inside of the robot was dark. Everywhere she reached, she bumped into wiring and plugs. She reached for Widget, opened his projecting screen, and scrolled through the apps installed. She had recently discovered a flashlight in her sidekick. She turned it on, and the abyss of the robot lit up before her.

She didn't know exactly what she was looking for, but she carefully navigated the inside. She wished Caden's notes were more specific, but he probably didn't want them to be. Athena made sure not to unplug a single thing, move a single wire. As she pushed to the back, she found a tangle of red and blue cords. She frowned, and her previous, limited knowledge as a child began to kick in. She began to untangle them out of habit rather than conscious thought.

"Ponco, Aura will be back here shortly. I left some papers on her desk."

"They're still there, Mr. Blackquill!"

Athena was so surprised that she bumped into a panel that lit up at random, probably the motherboard. It banged into the plating of the body, and then crashed to the ground with a cacophony that reminded her of pots and pans.

"Who's there?" Simon's voice cut through the air like the blade he was known for. Athena froze, not knowing what to do.

"Athena is looking around in Aura's domination robot, Mr. Blackquill. She asked multiple questions about it."

 _Thanks, Ponco. Thanks._

"Athena?" Simon's voice was wary.

She swallowed. "Hey," she called. "Give me a second. I need to fix this."

He didn't reply, and she picked up the motherboard and secured it back in place. She noticed crossed wires, incorrect plugs, and a rusted screw that was probably why the motherboard fell off in the first place. She focused on the task at hand, ignoring the increasing thuds in her chest and stomach.

"Ponco, can you hand me a screwdriver and a sheet metal screw?"

"Yes!"

Ponco squeezed into the tight space. Athena took what she needed from the robot's hand, and went back to her task. She righted the wiring and the plugs and stepped back to check her handiwork.

"Is everything fixed?" Ponco asked.

Athena smiled at the robot. "Yes."

"Yay!"

Athena followed Ponco out, crawling on hands and knees, and Simon was standing right outside the paneling. She swallowed, and gathered the courage to look at him.

"What are you doing?" His words were blunt.

Athena flipped on her back, pushing herself out onto the floor. "Hello to you, too," she said. She coughed on a cloud of dust. "Help me up?"

Simon hesitated for a moment, and then extended a hand. Athena took it, and felt the coiled power in his muscles as he hoisted her up. His hand was rough, as she expected, but she also felt steady. Completely in control.

"Thank you," Athena said, trying to keep her voice brisk. "If you see Aura before I do, let her know the motherboard was hanging on by a thread. And some of the wiring was in the wrong place."

"Last I heard, she was letting Clonco do some calibrating on that particular robot," Simon replied. "I will let her know he needs reprogramming."

Athena winced. That poor robot. "Okay."

"Do I even want to know what you were doing in there?"

Athena shrugged. "Following a lead."

Simon stared at her. She supposed it sounded weird. What did a young woman's murder have to do with Aura's pet project? Athena fought the urge to explain herself.

"Did you discover anything?" he asked at last.

Athena shrugged again, this time with one shoulder. "The line has been drawn, remember? This is the defense side –" she gestured to herself, "and that's the prosecution side." She waved in his direction. "Separate, right?"

"You're displeased, I take it."

Athena frowned. She thought that sounded reasonable.

"Simon, it's fine," she said, crossing her arms. "And even if it wasn't, it really doesn't matter what I feel or don't feel, does it? We both have a job to do. You were right."

Simon laughed. Athena focused on the sound. Even though it still had its harsh, sardonic edge, she could hear waves of warmth deep underneath. The hairs on her arms stood up, and she was glad she wore long sleeves. "If only it were that simple."

Athena shook her head. "Seriously?"

Simon frowned.

"You don't exactly help," Athena pointed out. "Like hiding the fact that a gun was fired up on the road, through the windshield glass. What was _that_ about?"

Simon's face twisted into a smile. "There it is."

She ignored him. "I can handle your sense of humor, Simon, and I can even handle feeling like enemies for this case. That's fine, whatever. But straight up _hiding_ evidence like that from the court?"

He said nothing.

Athena all but growled. "That's something Gaspen Payne would do."

He jerked his head up, his shoulders hunching forward and muscles coiling. Like a hawk ready to dive, or a cobra ready to strike. "Do _not_ compare me to that man's ilk."

"But-"

"I have my reasons for everything, Athena," he said. "I've informed you of this already. Many times."

Athena gave a sharp shake of her head. "That's not good enough."

Simon stilled, and Athena wanted to revel in his disbelief. But she kept going.

"This isn't some silly thing like last time, in your apartment," she said, clenching her fists. "This is about a man's innocence."

Simon gave her several moments, considering. For the first time in a long time, his expression gave way: a classic smirk of his that pointed inwards, but his jaw tight, keeping everything inside.

"How forward of you," he said. Athena started: he wasn't making fun of her. She could tell from the voice of his heart. There was almost... pride? "Regardless, the answer is the same. I cannot tell you anything at this time."

"Simon –"

"Athena," he said, almost mimicking her tone. "There is a reason; I just cannot discuss it. I need your trust on this matter."

Okay, _that_ wasn't fair. Even though frustration still rose in her like bile, she could feel her shoulders dropping. Her teeth releasing from a bite she didn't know she had. That was all it took. That was all it took to get her to stop fighting. Just a few, well-placed words.

"Just... please tell me you actually think Caden is guilty," Athena said. "That this isn't some prosecutor's game, where winning the case is all that matters."

Simon met her gaze. "I give you my word."

She let out a long sigh. "Okay. Thank you."

They didn't speak again for a few moments. Simon stood in the way of the door, and to walk around him, she would have to go near the dissembling table. She had nothing left to investigate in the lab, but she couldn't leave. Not yet. She looked at the massive robot she had just fixed and put a hand on it.

"I gave what you said in my apartment a lot of thought."

Athena looked at him, surprised. His expression mimicked her own. Simon was never prone to outbursts, even before the UR-1 incident. She swallowed, trying to remain impassive.

"Which part?" Her nerves were circuit wires.

He paused. "The phantom, primarily."

Electricity ignited in her blood. She swallowed. "Ah."

"You informed me you wanted nothing to do with him, and I assume the UR-1 Incident in general," Simon pressed, and after a heartbeat, she looked straight into his eyes. "That begs the question: why are you here?"

Athena bit her lip. She looked away, to the bookshelves where she found Caden's files.

"You are far too emotional to be on this case, Athena." The argument was old, something he said from the beginning, but she wasn't a fool. She knew what he was asking. This was more than him just trying to protect her. This was about professional integrity, the same way she asked him. It was a fair question, but still not easy.

Athena lifted one shoulder, dropped it. "You're probably right."

Simon waited.

Athena let out a long, shuddering breath. "When I first heard the news, I was at Juniper's. We were drinking tea that was way too strong, and talking about the case I had the day before and old times." She dropped her hand from the robot. "The news was on as background noise, but the moment the Space Center was mentioned, everything just fell away. And I hadn't heard Caden Barrow's name since before my mother died, but I recognized it right away. It was easy."

Simon's face was a blank canvas, but she knew him well enough to know that he was listening. Intently.

"This place was my home," Athena said. "And right now, everything feels unfinished. I feel like..." she struggled for the words. She had never put her feelings into words before. It wasn't something Apollo, her boss, or even Juniper could understand. "I feel like I'm stepping into a path that was made for me, even with all of its twists and turns and shadows. And to ask me to turn away from where I came from, to not find out the truth no matter what it is or how much it scares me? Simon, I _can't_."

His eyes widened.

"I have to be here," Athena said. "I don't know how else to explain it."

A thousand emotions flickered across his face, too fast for Athena to catch them. He took a deep breath. "Very well."

Athena tilted her head. "Huh?"

"I will let the matter go," Simon replied. "I can comprehend when I have lost."

A hesitant smile bloomed on her face. For a reason she couldn't understand, he turned his head away from her.

"It's against my better judgment," he added.

A short laugh escaped her. "I'm sure. Where's Aura?"

"Speaking with the police." Simon adjusted to the change of subject without even a beat of hesitation. "She's upset with all the ruckus. She hopes to at least adjust the volume to a dull roar."

"With Ema around?" Athena murmured. "Good luck."

Simon cracked a smile. "That's what I informed her. Of course, she wouldn't hear a word of it. If anyone can match Ema's temper, it's Aura."

Athena shuddered. _Imagine the two of them becoming friends._ That would be a terrible sight. Her own smile faded. "How is she doing? I imagine this can't be easy on her, either."

Simon's face composed. "She's surviving," he replied. "She's very good at that."

Athena hesitated. "I don't know how she does it," she said. "Just being in this room, much less going through all of this." _Every day. For eight years._ Forget her own cowardice, unable to face a table. Aura faced it with the unwavering rage of a bull each day.

"We all have a job to do, Athena." Simon's voice took on a weight that didn't sound like his own.

She didn't argue with him. Instead, she asked a different question. "Have you been in here? Since you were released?"

Simon cocked his head, considering. "Before today? Once." He paused. "I confess I don't know how Aura does it either."

Athena smiled again, stronger. "By building a diabolical war robot?"

He laughed. "You're not far off the mark, I imagine."

Athena felt something grow in her chest. She couldn't remember for the life of her when the seed of it was planted, maybe it was there all along, but it transformed into an almost unbearable warmth that expanded like light from the sun.

 _I wanted to ask if you could make Simon Blackquill the prosecuting attorney for my trials. For the foreseeable future._

In one moment, she understood everything with astounding clarity. How could she not get it before?

Athena found her legs moving before her conscious mind gave the command. She walked towards that table, something she couldn't face ever before. When she passed Simon, he didn't try to stop her or ask what she was doing. At the core, Athena knew he understood her, and that was more than she could ever ask for.

Athena knew all too well what would happen the moment she touched the table, but she did so anyway.

Memories were an ocean, roaring and all-encompassing. The katana sticking out of her mother. A handkerchief over her face, dehumanizing and reducing her to a trick for Ponco. The sword clattering to the ground as a man rushed her, the knife she found in the emergency kit. The tang of new blood, hitting her nostrils. Metal on metal on metal.

Then waking up from darkness, her clothes stained with blood. Her hysterically screaming at Ponco to mover her mother, _fix her, fix her_ , then Simon in the doorway, yelling, hacking Ponco apart...

It wasn't until Simon's hands closed around her shoulders, making her jump, that she realized she was crying. Athena dared to look at his profile, and she watched his Adam's apple bob and work in his throat.

Athena remembered being picked up, pressed into the same coat, having her face hidden as she leaned back into Simon in real time. He froze, and she wondered if he was going to run off on her again.

"I'm tired, Simon," she said quietly. "I'm so tired."

She heard a sharp intake of breath, and then he pulled her closer. Just for a second. Athena's pounding heart was the only proof that she had it was real.

"Yes," he replied. "Me, as well.

Only one moment.

But it was enough.

* * *

TBC

 _Saukalt -_ damn cold _in German_

 _Que mierda -_ what the hell _in Spanish_

 _I was actually going to have this up two weeks ago, but then my boyfriend popped the question. Best excuse I have for not writing so far!_


	13. Chapter 13

The drive to Caden and Aly's neighborhood from the Space Center was a short one. The houses were built old-fashioned, but large: flat, thatched roofs, neat trim often with pops of brick red, sky blue, and forest green, and rectangular arches over the front doors. Each yard was divided concisely with white picket fence, and Athena didn't want to imagine what the home owner's association meetings were like.

"Are we doing Caden's house first?" Athena asked.

"I would recommend it." Apollo leaned back in his seat. "Aly's parents will either talk to us or slam the door in our faces, and it'll be draining either way."

"Right."

She started counting down the numbers as she drove by house after house.

"It's creepy here," Apollo muttered. "It's too perfect, or something."

Athena nodded. "Agreed."

He gave her the side-eye, and she knew what thought had just occurred to them. "So, anyway. Did you talk to the prosecutor?"

"You have the subtlety of a baseball bat," Athena told him as she leaned over the steering wheel, trying to see a hidden address number. "Yes, if you must know."

"Did it go okay? Did you hash anything out?"

Athena slowed down her driving and glared at him. "Baseball bat," she repeated.

"Yeah, yeah." Apollo waved his hand. "Stop avoiding the question."

Athena thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't really know."

It was the truth. In the lab, it felt like something had broken open. Simon had let out a sigh, and then stepped away from her. Athena expected him to leave, like last time, but he ended up settling a foot or so away from her. Even so, a chasm yawned between them. The moment of clarity began to fade.

"Simon."

Athena jerked, and she gasped as her throat constricted and expanded in seemingly one breath.

She looked over her shoulder. Aura's face was unreadable, as usual, but Athena thought she saw a shifting like a predator in her eyes.

"You," Aura pointed at Athena. "Get out."

Athena stared at her, not comprehending.

"Get. _Out._ "

She resisted the urge to bolt out the door, even though it meant going past Aura. "Tell her about the robot," she muttered under her breath to Simon, hoping he could hear her.

As she pushed past Aura and rounded the corner, she heard Simon's ask in a low tone "How long were you standing there?" It was something she wanted to know herself, but Athena knew better than to stand around when Aura was like that.

Apollo sighed. "This sounds dangerous, Athena."

Athena didn't ask for him to clarify. She knew what he meant. She would have before the encounter in the lab, but boy oh boy, she knew all too well now. The truth circled in her mind.

"Aura interrupted, in my defense," Athena said. "And it doesn't really matter, does it? He has his role, and I have mine." She winced. She was recycling verbiage she used on Simon. And it hardly sounded convincing.

One house to go.

"Okay," Apollo said. "If you say so."

"I do say so," Athena said.

Anything Apollo planned to say died on his lips as they pulled in front of Caden's house. The house was colored sky blue, with deep navy trim. A row of trimmed hedges sat on a strip of mulch, while the rest of the yard was immaculately trimmed grass. The perfection seeped into every brick like a plague until the far left side of the house.

A window was fortified with duct tape, not quite shattered. The familiar black lettering screaming "CAUTION" made her grit her teeth. She slowed to a halt, trying not to hit her brakes too hard. When she stopped near the curb, Athena watched as Apollo's throat worked.

"I swear," he said at last. "If we get one more goddamn surprise where the people that are supposed to be helping us are actually leaving us in the dark, I quit."

She knew from his half-hearted tone he didn't mean it. Still, Athena couldn't blame him.

"Maybe it's not related," Athena offered. "Maybe it was a street thug problem, or something."

"In a neighborhood like this one?" Apollo shook his head. "I mean, it's possible. But..."

Athena opened her car door. "Let's find out, then," she said abruptly. "We aren't going to get anything done by whining."

When they knocked on the door, Caden's mother opened the door almost instantly. Her face was composed, serene, like she was expecting them.

"Hello," she said. "Rather close, wasn't it?"

It was like discussing how nice the day was, or some other mundane topic. After the calamity of the trial, it jarred Athena.

"That's one way of putting it." Apollo's voice was stormy.

Caden's mother didn't seem to recognize it. "Court cases usually go to day two; I've noticed with your agency." She opened the door further, welcoming them into a small foyer with small tables with drawers and leafy plants. "I'm sure there's no cause for concern just yet, yes?"

Athena's eyes jerked to the older woman's. That calm was like a veil, and for a moment, she could see it lift to reveal the dark underneath. This was not meant to be a friendly encounter.

This was a threat. Athena just didn't know what the consequences were.

"We should always be cautious," Athena replied in a low tone. "These kind of cases are rarely what they appear."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Mrs. Barrow," Apollo began.

Her face cleared as she turned towards him. "Sonja, please. We are all on the same side, here."

"Yeah, right," Widget began to sound out, but Athena clapped her hand over its speakers. An awkward silence settled. But Sonja Barrow hardly seemed bothered.

"That device," she said. "You received it from the Space Center, correct?"

Athena stared at her, wondering how much she wanted to tell her. "A good friend of my mother's made it," she said at last.

Sonja tilted her head. "Aura Blackquill, correct? I wondered if she was still around."

"She is," Athena replied. "She likely always will be. Her passion for her work is legendary."

"I see," Sonja said. "Caden must have been very lucky to study with her, then."

Her voice sounded mocking. Athena felt a fresh rush of rage run through her system.

"Sonja," Apollo interrupted. "It looks like your house is damaged."

Her mouth soured. "So, you noticed that."

"It's a bit hard to miss," Apollo said, deadpan. "Are you all right?"

Sonja turned around. "Let's talk in the living room. I haven't had much to eat today, I'm afraid."

Athena supposed it made sense. In such a high stress case, Athena couldn't imagine what it was like to be a relative of the defendant. They followed her into the living room, where red oriental couches framed an ivory rug.

"Have a seat," Sonja said. "I'll get some cheese and crackers."

"What is this, a stuffy home owner's meeting?" Apollo muttered under his breath.

"I thought about that earlier," Athena said. "Maybe she leads them."

"That would explain it."

Sonja came back with a plate and water glasses. "That's better," she said. Athena noticed stands next to the couches, and planted her stuff there. "Now, yes. That window is from Caden's room. We noticed it the morning before the accident."

"What happened?" Athena said. "Did someone throw a rock?"

"I wish." Sonja pursed her lips. "Someone shot at his window."

"Like, with a gun?" Athena blurted out.

Sonja looked at her like she was daft. "Yes," she said, stretching the word. "Caden was out with friends. Thank goodness, otherwise he could have been killed."

"Do you think that was the goal?" Apollo asked her.

Sonja paused, a small cracker sandwich halfway to her mouth. "I'm not sure," she said. "I must admit I'm at a loss for such matters. We don't own guns. I don't know anyone personally who does."

Athena felt a moment of pity for her. But Apollo was still frowning.

"Did you tell Caden what happened?"

"No, Alexandra beat me to it."

Athena started. "Ms. Ford was here?"

"Not when it happened. She was visiting to pick up some things for Caden the day before, and saw the window."

Athena sat up straighter. "He was with her the night before she was killed?"

"No." Sonja flicked back her ponytail with her free hand. "She was picking up things for a party, she said. Some of Caden's friends wanted to throw a welcome home sort of thing. Alexandra knew I always have cups and plates and the like on hand, due to the get-togethers I throw, so she asked for some." Sonja put her water on a coaster. "She must have called him or something, through, because he called me. I still would have preferred telling him about it, but what can you do?"

 _You could have told us,_ Athena thought, but didn't say, and Widget was thankfully quiet on the matter. She put her water and plate down. "Can we see Caden's room?"

Sonja stiffened. "I suppose it can't hurt," she said after a beat. "I don't know what you expect to find."

Athena and Apollo let Caden's mother lead them to carpeted stairs, freshly vacuumed, and then led them down a hallway full of empty vases.

"It's not the season yet," Sonja said, like they cared. She opened the last door on the right. "Well, here we are. Feel free to look around, but please put everything back exactly where you found it."

"Athena," Apollo said.

It only took her a second to realize what he was looking at.

Caden's bed was made, probably by his mother, with plain blue pillowcases and a comforter. Next to it was a nightstand, with an old picture sitting loose with no frame. Athena started when she saw who must have been Aly: she never knew what her face looked like before she was murdered and her head angled into the creek. She was quite young here, fresh with baby fat in her cheeks and innocent eyes.

"See what she's holding?" Apollo said.

Athena looked what she was holding to her chest like a trophy. A figurine. A small, robotic arm.

"Sonja, what is Alexandra holding in that picture?" Athena turned towards the doorway, where Sonja still stood.

"Oh, that old thing?" Sonja entered the room, but Athena noticed it was with reluctance. "Alexandra won a gold medal for her robotics club when Caden still worked at the Space Center. Apparently they were building miniature robots for practice, and he made a piece into a snowglobe."

"A snowglobe?" Athena echoed. "That's unique."

"Isn't Aly really young here?" Apollo asked. "Kinda weird to have a child's picture in his room, with this age difference."

Athena flinched.

"It isn't like that," Sonja said. "Alexandra and I went through old photos while she was here, since she asked about them. She wanted to give that one to him, but I suppose the silly girl left it here."

 _Or maybe she left it for him to find._

Athena didn't want to give anything away, not to this woman. "A welcome back party?" she echoed the woman's earlier statement. "I thought Caden was only missing for a couple of weeks after he left the Space Center."

Sonja's mask slipped. Athena watched as emotion coursed her face, and she shrugged one shoulder up to her ear, and then dropped it in the most informal manner she showed this entire visit.

"Yes, he came back home almost a month after leaving the Space Center," she said. "But he wasn't the same. He was crazy. Always looking over his shoulder, snapping at people over the smallest things. He hadn't been sleeping. I could hear him from the hallway. I did my best to watch over him, but he kept slipping away.

"I figured the Space Center was too much for him, like I thought from the start. I suggested travel." Sonja began to have trouble maintaining eye contact. "I did it right out of college, and I thought the experiences might be good for him. He jumped at the idea. A few days later, off he went."

"And he was gone for nine years?" Apollo said incredulously.

Sonja sighed, and the pompous attitude was back. "Of course not. He came back to visit every once in a while. But never for long. He would come for a day or two at a time, and then disappear again. I couldn't make him stay."

"And Aly?" Athena asked.

Sonja gave her a long look. "What about her?"

Athena could tell from her voice that subject was closed.

Athena heard Apollo shift behind her. "Well, we should look at what we came here for, right?"

Athena nodded and turned around. She found the bullet hole instantly: a small hole in the right corner of the window. It sent spiderweb cracks around it, and then several longer ones that spanned the entire window.

"It would have been right over his bed," Apollo murmured.

Sonja heard him. "Yes," she said, stepping into the room. "Like I said, if Caden had been here, he could have been killed."

Athena followed the trajectory the bullet would have taken, a line across the room. Sure enough, there was a tiny dent in a white closet door.

"I assume the police gathered the bullet already?" she asked.

Sonja paused. "It was taken, yes."

Athena straightened. "I think we've seen what we need to see."

Apollo nodded and went to her side. "I agree. Thank you for your hospitality, Sonja."

Caden's mother led them to the front door. "Let me know if I can help with anything else. I'd rather the court proceedings not go to day three."

Athena and Apollo looked at each other.

"Well, you need to tell us if something like that happens." Apollo gestured towards Caden's window. "We can't investigate without all of the information."

"I figured it wasn't related."

"Your son's room was shot at," Athena said, incredulous. "And then a day later, he's in a serious car accident that killed two, and then another murdered. How is that not relevant?"

Sonja gave her a long look. "I will keep that in mind."

Athena wanted to strangle her. Instead, she bit her bottom lip. She felt a sore forming, from how much worrying she had done lately. The door closed.

"I don't like her," Athena said.

"Neither do I," Apollo replied. They walked back to the car. "But I can't deny that was invaluable information."

"So that piece of metal is from a snowglobe, huh?" Athena mused. "You still have the figurine, right?"

Apollo patted his pocket in response.

Once they reached the car doors, Athena froze. A sleek black car that Athena had been in just recently pulled up to a house, followed by a Jeep. The doors opened to reveal Simon and Detective Gumshoe, respectively to each car. They began to walk to the neighboring house.

"What timing," Apollo muttered under his breath.

"Wait," Athena said. "That's Aly's house, right?"

Apollo looked at the sheet of paper. "So it is. Goddamn."

Athena began to walk towards them.

"Athena," Apollo said, jogging to catch up with her. "What are we doing?"

"We're going to talk to Aly's parents," she said, hoping she sounded bold. She counted sidewalk cracks as she picked up the pace.

"Really? We're doing this? With _them_ there?"

She ignored him, and managed to catch up with Simon and Gumshoe before they knocked on the door.

"Oh, hey!" Gumshoe waved. Simon's face remained impassive from behind him. "The good prosecutor let me out of the accident scene."

 _Do you even remember his name?_

"How kind of him," Athena said dryly. "You're both here to talk to the victim's parents?"

"Yes," Simon replied, crossing his arms. "Considering Ema has all the tact of a rhinoceros, I thought this was the better choice."

"Yeah, I can't argue with that," Apollo said.

Athena let out a sharp exhale through her nostrils, and everyone looked at her. She plowed ahead as bluntly as possible. "We need to talk to the victim's parents, too."

Athena heard a choking sound from Apollo.

Simon gave her a long, deliberate look, ignoring her associate. "What makes you think I'm going to let you?"

Athena didn't flinch. "There's no use opening their wounds twice. They didn't see the crime happen, anyway, so I don't know how you're going to build your case around their testimonies alone."

Simon cocked his head.

"Better luck next time, pal," Gumshoe said with a grin. "The prosecution would never –"

"I don't care." Simon cut him off. "If the two of them want to fumble with Ms. Ford's parents, they can be my guests. It won't interfere with my work." He knocked on the door and let himself inside. They must have already been expecting him.

Gumshoe stared after Simon, slack-jawed. "Hey, wait for me!"

"You know what?" Apollo said, nudging Athena in the shoulder as Gumshoe struggled to fit his broad shoulders through the narrow doorway. "I take it back. Whatever is happening between the two of you, it's great. Keep it up. I can't approve enough."

Athena pinched the bridge of her nose. "Apollo, please shut up."

"I'm just saying."

She peeked through the open door before letting herself in, Apollo close behind her. The house echoed Sonja's, with neat rugs and arranged furniture. A woman and a man sat so close together on the couch that their legs touched. They looked completely at ease, normal, until Athena got close enough to see splotchy skin and bloodshot eyes.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ford, I presume?" Simon asked, extending a hand.

"Please," the wife said dully, extending her arm like Ponco would and with none of the enthusiasm. "Call me Alyssa."

"Stephen for me," the husband added, shaking Simon's hand with more vigor than Mrs. Ford did. "Thank you for coming."

Athena began to shrink back. All of her bravado already began to disappear. What insight could they have, that was worth this kind of cost?

Gumshoe introduced himself, and after the pleasantries, they seemed to notice Athena and Apollo.

"And who are these two?"

"This inexcusably rude duo are the defense team for the case," Simon said, and Athena flushed. Alyssa and Stephen's expressions iced over, and Athena rushed to amend the situation.

"I'm Athena Cykes, and this is Apollo Justice," she said, shooting a glare in Simon's direction. "I apologize for the intrusion."

"You're defending Caden?" Alyssa asked slowly. "Even though-"

"It's nothing personal," Apollo said. "Every person is entitled to a defense, and if we lose, we lose."

"We just want the truth," Athena added. "Same as the prosecution."

A silence settled over them like mist.

"If you want them out, I can throw them out," Gumshoe said.

Athena swallowed, and she elbowed the detective in the ribs. "If you want us to leave," she said, stressing the last word, "we can. No escorting necessary. There's no law saying you have to talk to us."

"Athena," Apollo murmured.

Alyssa opened her mouth to speak, but Stephen beat her to it . "Cykes," he said, tilting his head. "Are you Metis's daughter?"

Athena started. Did everyone know her? "Yes."

"She can stay for the time being," Stephen said.

"Stephen," Alyssa began.

He shrugged. "What harm can she do right now?"

Alyssa didn't seem to have an answer for him. Athena settled onto the opposite chair, and Apollo had to pull up a chair from the neighboring kitchen as Simon and Gumshoe took the remaining chairs.

"I must begin with the usual preliminary questions," Simon said, and Athena saw that he looked at Aly's mother first. "When was the last time you saw your daughter?"

Alexandra's mother reacted before he finished his sentence. Her throat began to convulse, fighting back tears, but Athena could hear the sobs from the older woman's chest. Without thinking, she got to her feet to reach towards her.

Alyssa didn't notice.

"Alyssa," Stephen murmured, too low to be heard by anyone except Athena. "Go to the room."

Alyssa shook her head, unable to speak.

"I have it," he said, louder. "Don't put yourself through this. Go."

She pushed herself away from him and stormed out of the living room. Athena slowly lowered herself to the couch, and she realized she was shaking.

Stephen swallowed before composing his face. "To answer your question," he said, acting as if the interruption was a small inconvenience instead of a devastation, "We saw her the night she was... She was getting ready for a welcome home party, for Caden."

Athena caught the glance in her direction. She looked down in her lap.

"Was there any indication there was something wrong?" Simon asked.

"No," Stephen said. "Nothing. Aly was always a bubbly, happy girl, but that day she was bordering on ecstatic. It was a long time since I saw her so thrilled and excited."

Athena watched him squeeze a part of the couch cushion in his fist until his knuckles turned white.

"She left hours before the party started, though." Stephen sat back in his chair. "She said that she had to run a few errands before heading over there, and she just... never came back." He folded his hands in his lap. "The next time I heard about her, she was gone."

"She gave no indication where she was going?" Simon asked.

Athena knew the answer. She had gone to Sonja's house, to look through photographs. But it didn't completely explain being gone for hours and hours. She knew Sonja had no fondness for Aly. It was possible, but...

Apollo nudged Athena in the ribs, and Athena realized Stephen started speaking again. "If I had to guess, she went to the Barrow household. In the past couple of days, she talked about surprising Caden with something. Maybe she went to Sonja for ideas? I don't know."

Athena nodded to herself. She knew why Simon let her in this interview. This was all that they already knew. Simon was going through the routine, on the small chance there was something to be found.

"When did Alexandra hear about Caden's return?"

"He notified us about a week beforehand." Stephen adjusted on the couch. "It was such a surprise. He showed up out of the blue a few times, but then disappeared." He scratched the back of his head. "The entire thing seemed off to me, but Alexandra wouldn't hear it. They've been friends for so long, even with the age difference."

"Have they ever been together?"

Simon's question made Athena sit up straighter.

A flash of anger lit up Stephen's features, sharpening the light in his eyes. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't know much of anything anymore."

Athena sat back in her chair, frowning. She wished she could talk to Caden again, or even better, talk to Aly. The emotional burdens were crucial for this case, but they lay just out of reach. She folded her arms.

"Well, wait a minute."

Stephen looked at Apollo, guarded.

"You said that Alexandra was gone for a period of time between leaving your house and arriving at this party, right?" Apollo rubbed at his wrists. "Do we even have confirmation that she arrived at this party?"

"Don't waste this mourning father's time with inane questions," Simon said, bored. "She left her car at the house the party was located."

"Wait, wait," Athena said. "She took her own car? Then why did she end up in Caden's car?"

"That question is being investigated as we speak," Simon said curtly. "Multiple guests did confirm she was present for at least several hours."

"I didn't know that."

They all looked at Aly's father.

"I... didn't know," he repeated, looking lost. "I thought she never made it there. That's a comfort, actually. That she wasn't afraid and alone all night."

Simon's face softened. "No. She was not. The partygoers said she looked cheerful, excited."

Stephen swallowed hard. A single tear fell, but he wiped it away with an forceful gesture. "I see. I suppose that makes sense. She was going to bring a present. For Caden. To welcome him home."

Gumshoe tugged on his tie. "Do you know what it was?"

Stephen shook his head. "I wish I did. I can say that I sincerely hope he doesn't have it. After all this, he doesn't deserve anything. Especially not of hers."

Athena's nerves pricked her in the sides of her throat and stomach. She wanted to say something in Caden's defense, but couldn't. She still struggled with this side of the job. Being attacked in court, fine, but this was a mourning father. It wasn't his duty to have all the facts. His only concern was his daughter and his own pain. Her heart went out to him.

"Apollo," she asked quietly, under her breath. "Do you have it?"

Everyone else was wrapped up in the conversation, save for Simon. A flick of his eyes towards her and then back to Aly's father told her he probably didn't hear exactly what she said.

Apollo looked at her. "Are you sure that's a good call?"

This time, no one looked towards them. Apollo worked with her long enough to know just how sensitive her hearing was. He could speak seemingly without sound, and she could hear it. They usually used it to mess with Trucy and sometimes even the boss, but it came in handy during interviews like this one.

"We need to steer this conversation in a different direction," Athena murmured, looking directly at Stephen.

This time, Simon's gaze was piercing. Athena did her best to ignore him.

Apollo reached into his pocket and dropped the miniature in her open palm.

"I went around the car with a metal detector," Gumshoe was saying. "I didn't find something that would count as a gift."

"Assuming that it was made of metal," Stephen pointed out.

Gumshoe swallowed. "I didn't find anything near the car in general."

"We have it," Athena said.

The entire room seemed to turn towards the two of them. Heat rushed up to Athena's face, and even Apollo's cheeks turned pink.

Stephen's face was unreadable. "Excuse me?"

She extended her hand towards him, opening her palm. The figurine resting in the ziploc bag rolled slightly forward. His eyes widened, and his breath drew in sharply.

"That's-"

Simon's voice tuned low. "Where did you find that?"

"In a bucket," Athena said, refusing to look at him. Instead, she stared into Stephen's eyes, trying to get a read on him.

"A bucket?" Gumshoe echoed.

She ignored him, too.

"You know what this is, don't you?" she said softly. "I saw a picture of what it used to be next door."

A flush deepened his face too quickly to be innocuous. "Why would he have that? He gave that to her, as a gift when she was young." He stared at it, as if it would explode in her hand. "None of this makes sense."

"She wanted to give it to him."

Everyone jumped, except for Simon. They turned towards the sound of the noise. Towards the front door, near the end of the living room, stood Aly's mother. Other than the fact her hair was bound up and her eyes bloodshot, she looked the same as when she left.

Stephen turned toward his wife. "What do you mean?"

Alyssa shrugged. "She said she wanted something nostalgic. Caden told her he was coming back for good, and she wanted something that could come full circle. It had been a decade or more since he made it for her. Something about how she hadn't forgotten a thing."

Silence settled over them like a cloud. The kind of person Aly was had been taking shape for a while, but this was the first time it really settled in Athena's brain. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't do that in front of the victim's parents. Not when she was the defense team.

The slow dip and bob of Apollo's throat told her he was thinking on a similar wavelength. She bowed her head. There was nothing she could say, or argue here. She almost wished she didn't come in the first place.

"I should have checked her car," Stephen said. "Aly was a bright girl. She never would have left her car behind without a reason. I should have forbidden her from seeing Caden. I should have..." He trailed off. He fought back tears, and Athena understood. Crying over the loss of a family member was private. She opened her mouth to say something, anything –

"You did everything exactly right."

Athena watched as Simon leaned forward, hands on his knees.

"There was nothing wrong with Aly's car," he continued. "We made sure to rule that out. This was a plan of hers for a long while. You could not have halted or silenced her, not with her being the thoughtful, kind, giving person she was. She was an extraordinary girl, who was snared in the worst circumstance."

Stephen buried his face in his hands. Alyssa wobbled and put a hand on Athena's chair.

"Be proud of the strong woman you raised," Simon finished, and for some reason, he looked directly at Athena before looking back at the mourning father. "And I promise you, I'll ensure it wasn't in vain. You have my word."

Her mouth fell open, ever so slightly. She reached for Widget with a shaking hand, and dropped it before she could activate him. She heard Alyssa shift from behind her and take a shuddering breath.

"Thank you."

* * *

Even Apollo was somber upon exiting the house. Athena waited until they left the driveway and stopped on the sidewalk, a few yards away from her car. Right in between Caden's house and Aly's. She swallowed.

"Is it always like that?" Athena said quietly. "Talking to a victim's family?"

"It never gets easier," Apollo admitted. "With the three day time limit, I always hope we can solve the case before we involve the family. As horrible as it sounds."

"No," Athena said slowly, staring at the front door. "I get it."

Simon and Detective Gumshoe walked out minutes later. Simon stood tall, as always, impassive and towering. Gumshoe wasn't much shorter than the prosecutor, but he slouched, hands in his pockets.

Simon turned to Apollo first. "I must say, I am surprised at your boldness. Revealing what's in your hand so soon?"

It took Athena a minute to realize he was talking about the snowglobe.

Apollo shrugged."You know as well as I do it happens sometimes." He crossed his arms. "I'll call Ema. She'll want to check the figurine for fingerprints."

"And she'll report to us, you know," Gumshoe pointed out.

"Yup." Apollo shrugged. "We'll find our advantage elsewhere. Right, Athena?"

"Huh?" Athena jerked, shaking her head. "Yes. Right. Sorry."

Apollo just looked at her.

"I must say, I'm surprised you didn't utilize Widget in that house," Simon said.

"Now that I think about it," Apollo said. "Me, too. Why didn't you?"

"We weren't exactly welcome in there," Athena pointed out. She shifted from self-consciousness. "Besides, Simon had it pretty well in hand."

Simon snorted. "That is not my forte."

Athena shrugged. "Sure it is. I saw what you did. Psychological manipulation. It's just that instead of scaring the dickens out of someone, you guided them to comfort."

Simon's eyes flickered, surprise slackening his jaw. The expression was gone in an instant, smoothing to a blank canvas, but Athena's heart pounded like a hummingbird against her ribcage. She looked away from him.

"I'll never understand psychologists," Apollo muttered. "Well, I'll call Ema."

"I can take whatever that is," Gumshoe offered. "It'll save some time."

"Sure, okay."

They started an easy chat, and Athena caught some mention of the car and the search. Simon stared at the two of them, before glancing back at Athena.

"Nothing is stopping me from blocking Ema from providing you with the results," he said under his breath, but Athena caught his meaning loud and clear. A challenge. "From that item as well as anything else."

Athena took a deep breath, then gathered enough courage to look at him square in the eyes. She could so easily get lost there, but she held firm. "I trust you."

This time, the startled look lasted much longer, and she wondered if he could hear the thrumming in her chest. Then heat she began to recognize in herself brightened his gaze, and her mouth parted by instinct.

"Athena, we should get going." Athena cleared her throat and shook her head. Thankfully, Apollo was still facing Gumshoe. "Are we good?"

"Yep," Athena said, turning towards her car. "I think we're done here."

Gumshoe called after them. "Hey, pals, do you know of this address?" He wrestled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and Athena took it.

"That's the third address on our list," Apollo said, looking over her shoulder.

Simon nodded, and then looked away from them. "I figured your client would give you that particular one. I would strongly advise against going there."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. Well, let's go, Athena."

"Justice-dono, that is Adam Austin's address."

Athena tilted her head, confused.

Apollo looked at her, then back at Simon. "I still don't get it."

He let out a long sigh, one that grew heavier and heaver with each syllable. "Your ignorance knows no bounds. The only person who lives there is Adam's mother, who is in the final stages of terminal brain cancer."

Apollo stilled.

"She doesn't have an inkling of what happened," Simon continued. "Nor does she understand why her son hasn't come home. He was taking care of her until his arrest, as well as paying out of pocket for her care. She will likely be picked up by a home, where she will live out her remaining days, but there is no information to be found there."

"We understand," Athena said before she could think about it. "We won't go over there."

"Agreed," Apollo echoed.

Without anything else to discuss, they left. Athena could feel Simon's eyes on her all the way to the car, when she started the ignition, and backed out of her parking spot. She didn't realize she was shaking from the rest of the day's events until her hands rested on the steering wheel.

"Athena?" Apollo sounded wired, even with the uncharacteristic quiet nature in his voice.

Athena exhaled. "Yeah?"

He turned towards her in his seat. "Why did Caden give us Adam's address in the first place?"

* * *

"Oh, hey!"

A young woman waved in Athena's direction. She stepped out of her car and locked it. After taking Apollo back to his studio apartment, she went straight home. There was nothing else to investigate, nothing to look into. She still didn't have an inkling of what happened. That had never stopped the agency before, but her nerves ran like electric wires. She recognized the girl calling her as her neighbor, but her name...

"Clara?" she guessed.

"Claire," her neighbor corrected her.

"Close enough!" Widget squawked. Claire jumped, looking for the source of the noise. Athena didn't bother to tell her.

"What's up?" Athena said, trying to sound casual.

Claire shook her head, as if to clear errant thoughts. "I'm heading out of state. Apparently my aunt is in the hospital."

"I'm so sorry," Athena said. And she was, but... _why is she telling me this?_

Claire seemed to have read her mind. "I just wanted to let you know because the two people below us in our complex are gone, too. On vacation or something." She flicked her blonde hair over one shoulder. "I guess I just wanted you to know we are all fine. You're in murder trials a lot, right?"

"I've only led three or four," Athena said without thinking.

Claire just stared at her. "Right."

Athena jumped as her phone went off in her pocket. She checked the screen, saw Ema's name flashing. She sighed. "I'm sorry; I have to take this. Thanks for letting me know. I hope your aunt is okay."

She made it to the stairs before Claire had time to reply. "Hello?"

"You promised this wasn't related to the case," Ema complained into her ear. "You _promised._ "

Athena sighed as she unlocked her door and let herself in. "Ema, I'm really not in the mood. What are you talking about?"

"The evidence you gave me," Ema said. "What else? Remember? The bullet and the glass?"

"Oh." Athena frowned as she locked the door and plopped on her couch. "Well, I told you that the glass could have been related from the get go."

"I don't care about that." Athena could practically see Ema wave her hand. "But yes, the glass had Alexandra's blood on it, so it was likely she was attacked with whatever that object was before it shattered."

Athena thought about it. "Does Simon know that?"

"Of course he does."

"What did he say?"

"Oh my God, he obviously doesn't care," Ema snapped. "Or I wouldn't have told you. I'm more concerned about that bullet."

Athena paused. "Wait, what?"

"It's the exact same type of bullet that killed Alexandra. And for fun, I did a ballistic report on it, and lo and behold, it was shot from the same exact gun."

"Ema, I found that bullet on my desk before the crime even happened," Athena said. "Like, days before."

Ema's sudden silence was overpowering.

"And you're telling me it's related to the case I'm working on now?" Athena added. "That doesn't make any sense. How did it get there?"

Athena could hear Ema swallow on the other end. "I forgot where you got it from. I'm sorry, Athena."

She didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Tell me what this means," Athena said. "Who put that bullet on my desk?"

The pause was agonizing. "I managed to pull a fingerprint from the shell. It was partial, so I can't be absolutely positive, but the closest match is from Alexandra, again."

Athena dropped her phone. The _thunk_ sent her scrambling, and she didn't realize her hands were so clammy until she touched the slick metal of her phone.

"Are you still there?" Ema was saying.

Athena clutched her phone with both hands, partly from fear of dropping it again and partly because she felt like she was going to hyperventilate. "Are you saying Aly put that bullet on my desk, then?"

"That's what it looks like."

"But I didn't even know her," Athena protested. "I knew Caden, but I never met Aly. I never even heard of her until you found her body."

"Well, apparently she knew you."

Athena leaned back into the couch, stunned. "I can't process this, Ema."

Ema let out a huff of air. "Well, there's more."

 _More?_

"I have no idea how to tell you this." Athena heard a subtle pitch change, most likely from Ema putting pressure on her nose. "Are you sure you found this bullet on your desk out of the blue? A client didn't give this to you, or maybe you did meet Alexandra or just didn't remember?"

"I would remember someone giving me a bullet, Ema," Athena replied. She folded one knee to her chest. "I'm not that scatterbrained."

"Do you remember the bullets in the Clay Terran case?"

Athena froze, but she kept her grip on her phone.

"How can I forget?" she asked carefully. "The two bullets, of two different sizes?"

Ema hesitated. "You asked me earlier if there's any way to track bullets. Usually that's true, but in this case, the bullet that killed Alexandra and the bullet that was found on your desk are both from a brand of high performance ammo that's not only illegal in the United States, but several countries. It is very, very difficult to get, and highly dangerous. Your best bet of finding this stuff is on the black market."

"Oh my God, Ema," Athena blurted out. "Does Simon know this? Did you tell him?"

"That's not what's important right now, Athena."

Athena thought about it. "Why did you mention Clay's case?"

Ema paused for so long that Athena thought she hung up the phone. A thin line of dread began in the pool of her stomach.

"I tested the tiny bullet that fractured Clay's oxygen tank, and the bullet that hit the glass screen," Ema said quietly. "On a hunch, I crossed them with the bullets in this case. The one in the murder case and the one on your desk. Obviously, everything is coming from different guns. But the brand, the serial numbers? They all match."

It hurt to breathe. Athena's heart stopped, and her lungs constricted.

"I don't know what Simon's thinking, but I think Caden was set up," Ema said all in a rush, but Athena barely processed what she was saying. "I think he was framed. There is no way he can get this kind of ammunition, not easily, and there are too many coincidences to ignore at this point."

Athena scrambled for her thoughts like marbles.

"I need to run more tests," Ema said. "And I need to know anything else that you're possibly not telling me."

She got up. Slowly, she started going through her house. Locking windows. The front door. The patio door. Shutting blinds and pulling the panels closed. Ema went on in her ear.

"Apollo gave me that bucket, which is definitely weird. You would think Adam would have gone through the trouble of properly disposing of it. Athena, are you listening to me?"

"I've seen strange symbols," Athena said, collapsing into her kitchen chair. "In Caden's file from the Space Center, and in the grass near the center too. I saw that same symbol when I was a kid too, the day before my mother was killed."

"What does it look like?"

"Ema, today it felt like I was being watched," Athena blazed on. "In the woods. I didn't see anyone, or anything really, but... it felt like I was being watched."

Ema switched gears without a pause. "This is what's going to happen. Everyone has gone home for the day except me. But... have you locked everything? Windows, doors?"

"Yeah, just did." Athena put a hand on her chest, counted the beats. Too fast. Everything was too fast.

"I'm going to call Gumshoe right now," Ema said. "Hopefully it'll be tonight, but it might be first thing tomorrow morning. I'm going to have him escort you around until things clear up."

"Ema –"

"Athena, I'm serious. This is a safety issue. I'm getting off the phone right now to do that. Write all of this down. We need to be ready for anything that happens."

Athena swallowed. "Okay."

"Can you do that?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Ema let out a deep breath. "The case is still scheduled for tomorrow, but if all goes well, it could still easily go to day three. Keep your guard up, okay? And make sure your phone is on at all times."

Athena checked the battery. "It just went into the red. I'm going to go charge it."

"Sounds good. Call me if you need me." And just like that, Ema hung up the phone, and the silence in her apartment felt dangerous.

She went to her room, plugged in her phone, left it on her bed. It took several attempts to get the charger into position. Her vision blurred. She turned off every light in the apartment, relying on Widget to give her light. She sat down at the kitchen table, beginning to take painstaking notes on every detail she could think of. It wasn't like she was going to sleep this night anyway.

She was roughly halfway through her task when she heard it.

A small twisting of metal, her door handle hitting the deadbolt on the front door.

Athena got up and turned on the oven light, the only light she was comfortable with. She looked at the front door, and for a minute, she thought she was imagining things. Paranoia at work.

But then she heard it again, and then a scratching not unlike a cat's claw. The lock wiggled back and forth, until it twisted in the opposite position.

The door swung open.

* * *

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

If there was one thing Athena knew, it was survival.

Shortly after the UR-1 incident and the trial that followed, social workers sent Athena to live with her aunt and uncle in Europe. The minute she arrived, she buried the headphones Metis Cykes made for her in a dumpster outside the house. She refused offers of therapy and medication. She threw away contact numbers from back at home. Gone was the kind, gentle child. In her place was a furious hurricane with a hurting, broken girl as the eye of the storm.

Athena's poor aunt and uncle never saw any of it coming.

She kept seeing her mother's body, blood all over the floor. In her peripherals, any sudden movements brought her back to the Phantom. Whispers from the jury, the downcast eyes from Simon, the impassive face of the judge. And then there was her hearing.

A car alarm. Weather warnings. Children shrieking as they chased each other. Police sirens, intercoms, megaphones. Bells and whistles. All of these noises could set her off, crying and yelling and shutting everyone out, but what was even worse was the voices. No one could speak to her without her hearing a medley of pity, grief, sadness, even anger at some of her outbursts. Agoraphobia set in. She became little more than a wild animal backed into a corner.

Over-stimulated. Unchained.

Even continuing her home-schooling, her aunt and uncle couldn't exactly avoid every jarring sound known to mankind. Even secluded in her room, Athena awoke in the middle of the night with screaming nightmares. After catching her uncle in the jaw with her fist when he tried to wake her from one, that gave her family the idea to enroll her in self-defense classes.

It changed everything. The padded rooms canceled out the noise from the outside. Her teachers spoke in calm, measured voices. The fierce cries as students hit blocks and bags came in measured, predictable spurts, something Athena could adjust to and learn from. But most of all, as she learned to punch and kick and defend herself from physical attacks, she learned to defend herself from audible, sensory ones. She went inward, isolating her superb hearing to her own advantage.

Simon was wrong. Her power in her hearing never waned as she grew older. She just learned to control it.

The only times Athena couldn't control her thoughts and audible input these days were during trials, and times when her self-esteem and confidence were shaken. But her fears and doubts were irrelevant here. Her apartment was no longer safe. This wasn't a courtroom, or the every day world. This was a battlefield.

Athena stood from her kitchen table, her face slack, shoulders squared. Adrenaline injected into her bloodstream, and her heart began to pound in the consistent rhythm not unlike a drum. She knew the psychological effects, of course: the release of glucose for energy, the coiling of her muscles, the blood roaring like rivers in her veins. This was why she ran every day. There was so much power in adrenaline rushes, and most importantly, her mind quieted so that her body could save her. She recalled one memory before fight or flight consumed everything:

 _"Stop."_

 _Athena stumbled backwards from her teacher, growling. The salt from her own sweat stung her eyes, and she impatiently wiped her forehead._

 _"I can't," she whined. "I can't knock you over. You're too big." Her head came to his hip. He held a foam block to guard from her attacks. The war cries of students, the clap of feet on the mats, and the thumps of fists hitting punching bags overwhelmed her every sense._

 _"Go inward," her teacher said only._

 _"Huh?" Athena stopped, and her confusion over what he meant cut out the white noise, the endless chatter._

 _"Go inward," he repeated. "Don't hold back. Find what's within."_

 _It spoke a truth to her, one she didn't understand just yet. But she quieted, letting her arms drop to her sides. She focused on her breathing, in and out, in and out, until the sounds around her quieted to a muted white noise, and then nothing at all. Without thinking about it, she rushed forward, focusing on one point. One center._

 _The teacher stumbled from her single sharp blow, catching his balance. Athena's mouth hung open, not completely understanding what she just did. The sounds returned, but she could isolate them. She could hang them like ornaments around the visuals of mats and foam blocks._

 _"Good," her teacher said. "Again."_

Athena stepped away from the light of the oven, and she knew her attackers were dressed in black when she didn't immediately see them. But the breaths they took, the steps they made were unmistakable in her ears. She backed up into the wall behind the kitchen table and flicked the light switch with her elbow.

Three men stood in her living room with knives in their hands. She didn't see any holsters for guns, but that didn't mean much when her bloodstream pulsed to an erratic rhythm. Their faces were strangely revealed, without a hood or any attempt of shadows.

The thought came to her immediately. Masks. Just like...

Athena reacted. She lunged across the kitchen, back towards the oven. Her hand closed around the handle of a cast iron skillet that she never had time to clean, and she hurled it across the room as hard as she could.

One of them let out a shout. The man in front tried to duck, but it glanced off his temple. He collapsed to the ground, the skillet clattering, but more men poured through the doorway. Another one picked it up and threw it back at her. Athena dove into the hallway, and the pan hit the microwave. Sparks flew as the digital clock burst and turned black.

A man with disturbingly impassive features reached her first and swung at her with his knife. She ducked under his arm and grabbed his wrist, peeling his hand back as she dug her nails into his veins. He didn't flinch or falter, but the knife dropped out of his grip.

With her free hand, she caught the knife and deflected a blow from a second attacker. The first one sent his palm into her face, and she cried out as she stumbled backwards into the dry wall. He had just missed her nose, but her teeth throbbed from the impact. She managed to keep hold of her new knife, and she sent it in his direction without aim. She couldn't tell where exactly it connected, but the splatter of blood that hit her beige carpet told her she struck true.

In the cloud of panic, an errant thought flitted through her mind. _That's never going to come out..._

The utter ridiculousness nearly made her laugh, even in this situation, but her focus came back with a vengeance. The narrow walls of the hallway gave her more protection from the sides, but it also meant there was very little room to escape. She heard her front door click closed. The lock didn't turn, but they probably thought it wasn't necessary. Her chest constricted. This meant there were more of them. Athena needed to get an accurate count, to know what she was dealing with. But more importantly, she needed to get some kind of advantage, the element of surprise.

Athena rolled back on one foot and rushed forward, striking out with her arm as hard as she could. She hit the first man's throat with her elbow and he went down, coughing and struggling to breathe, as he clutched his bleeding arm. The second and third threw up their arms in defense as she dove forward with the knife. They stumbled backwards, colliding with the men behind them. One man grabbed her arm and she twisted underneath him until his arm couldn't go any further, and then she struck as hard as she could. The snapping of bone was unmistakable, and she couldn't help but flinch. She was back in her kitchen, with open space, but with plenty of room to be flanked and caught by surprise.

She began to count them. _One, two, three, four._ One of them was still down in the hallway, another had a broken arm, and the last was at her front door, unconscious from the cast iron skillet. Seven of them in all. Why so many? And why didn't they have guns? Athena opened her mouth to scream, maybe alert someone to the danger, but then it hit her. Claire. Her neighbor.

 _I'm heading out of state. Apparently my aunt is in the hospital._

 _I just wanted you to know the two people below us are gone, too. On vacation or something._

She was on her own. Her other neighbors lived far enough away from this building that hearing her scream was unlikely. And even if they did, calling for help would take far too long. Athena swallowed. For the first time, fear leaked through her mechanisms.

A man lunged for her, and Athena stepped away to let him collide with the counter. Someone grabbed her by the hair, and she cried out as she was yanked viciously backwards. A knife grazed her throat. She grabbed his arm and yanked it away. She moved one hip to the side, bent over, and hurled the man over her shoulder. But she had others on her flank, and Athena narrowly got away from more knife thrusts.

To her horror, Athena realized she was tiring. The man she threw was already back up on his feet, barely winded. Sweat began to drip from her hairline into her face, salt stinging her eyes. Her breaths turned erratic from fear and exertion. Athena knew from her movements that they grew stunted and irregular. She managed to incapacitate two of them, but that hardly mattered.

 _There were too many of them._

A strangled sob escaped Athena's throat as another knife lashed towards her. She tried her best to deflect it, but it nicked her face, her cheek opening. The scratch dripped blood onto the floor. She ran back to the hallway, dodging through more knife attacks and attempts to grab her, stepping over the two downed men. She had one more idea. One desperate act of hope.

She ran into her room and slammed the door shut, locking it before they could yank it out of her grasp. With a grunt, she hauled her small dresser in front of the door for good measure. A loud bang filled her ears, along with the sickening sound of splintering wood. She supposed they thought they didn't have the time to pick the lock. And they were right.

Athena scrambled for her phone, charging on her nightstand. She entered the password and got to speed dial. She considered calling Ema, or even 911, but her instincts screamed against it. They wouldn't get here in time. She couldn't hang on for so long. Another bang. The metal hinges screeched as they began to give way.

She entered the first number she had in her emergency contacts and hit dial.

The door groaned, and then cracked open. Her dresser fell into the carpet with a heavy thud. Athena threw her phone into the bed, hoping her attackers wouldn't see it. Based on the faint sound of ringing, she could tell her phone. She gripped onto her knife and squared her feet, ready to fight again.

One of them grabbed her by the arm and threw her towards the entrance of the door. She tripped over the dresser and collided with the wall. Athena saw a knife coming towards her, and she spun away. They grabbed her by the arms again and hauled her out of her room. The tingling on her arms told her that the attack would leave bruises, if she managed to survive. She dug her heels into the doorway, renewing her struggle, lashing out without aim. She watched her phone, screen half hidden by her down comforter, dialing until the indicator vanished.

Another knife. Another dodge. A muffled voice reached her ears. Athena pushed forward, back into her doorway. Again. He was on the other line. Three men charged her at once.

 _Simon._

Athena screamed.

* * *

Her scream brought focus and decision instead of fear. She lashed out with her knife, and it sank into the man's chest. His cry of pain was cut off by awful gurgling as blood bubbled out of his mouth, and he dropped to the floor. The two following behind him tripped over him, stumbling, and Athena snatched his knife.

She struggled to not hyperventilate. Athena had never killed before, not even in self-defense, and the most blood she ever drew was the Phantom's hand. But the limp from in front of her was unmistakable. His knife was still oddly in his belt.

Athena ran around the stumbling men until she reached the bathroom door. One of them grabbed her by the wrist, and she opened the door and shoved it in his direction as hard as she could. Another surprised shout, but that didn't stop her from hearing the padded footsteps behind her. A blade came so close to her that the fabric of her shirt split open. She shrieked, and fell into the door she just swung into someone else.

Her side hit the doorknob, and pain exploded in the form of red stars and orange clouds in her eyes. She almost blacked out right there, but Athena gritted her teeth and forced herself to her feet. Her breath came out in pants. Her vision began to fail, a concussion to the rhythm of her heartbeat started her side, and she lost her only weapon. Her already low chances were already dwindling by the minute, even though she murdered someone to get to this point. Low noises escaped her, even though panic would do nothing. Even the pathetic notions of escaping through the windows were pointless, because she had taken the time to lock all of them. There was no time. She had nothing left. Nothing to help her.

She blocked another blow by more instinct than actual conscious thought, pushing past him and back into the kitchen. Athena had to make some kind of final stand, especially if she was going to die. She had to take as many with her as she could. She had to give the detective team and her office a fighting chance to solve her case.

Athena turned around in the kitchen, and then she stopped. Something sounded different. The charged air turned into static, crackling and spitting. The breathing around her, once as even as a metronome, came in rapid bursts that didn't make sense with an accelerated heart rate. The masks became even more jarring, with their monotonous expressions and quiet appearances. Athena made a quick count. One was still near the doorway. Two in the hallway, one likely to be dead. One of the men in front of her was holding his arm. That made four in front of her, one injured. All of them hesitated.

"You're scared of me," Athena said, and her throat was so tight she was amazed she could get the words out at all. "Why?"

The answer lurked in her chest, but even at this point, she didn't want to face it.

"Why me at all?" For the first time in the encounter, Athena's mind began to turn towards something other than pure survival. "Who are you?"

The haggard wheezing from the hallway grew louder. The attacker Athena hit in the throat staggered into the living room, struggling still to breathe. He messed with something on his wrist, and Athena gasped.

That symbol. Arches, wings, dips like a claw. It shone as a bright red laser from a device that periodically beeped.

Athena rushed forward. Her only thought was that device. She had to get it, at all costs. It would be invaluable as evidence, for what happened here. She ran in between the injured man and the others.

She easily deflected a blow from the man holding his arm, but the other two managed to grab her and throw her down on the ground. She cried out, her tailbone throbbing along with her heartbeat, and she made the mistake of looking up. Two assailants held knives high above their heads, ready to stab downwards. She clenched her eyes shut and threw her arms up in an X above her face, even though it was futile. This was it.

This was the end.

Athena disregarded the howl of wind at first, but when the pain and blood didn't come, she frowned. Then she heard crashing coming from the front door, the sound of metal bashing through wood. She opened her eyes, one at a time, and shrieked as someone fell in her direction. Athena scrambled backwards on her hands.

She first noticed the ajar front door with the cool air from outside, and the splintered wood in her closet where the doorknob had crashed into it. Then she noticed the shifting, flashing colors of black and white. Only when she saw the familiar flicks of razor-sharp wind coming down in straight lines did she understand what was happening. Simon's pupils were nearly invisible, filled with a kind of fire that made a mockery of hell, the gray in his eyes pools of incandescent rage. She couldn't see his fingers move, but his opponents' skin opened like paper. They yelled like baying dogs, but it was far too late.

The man who sent out the signal was first. Simon crashed his head into the wall, and he collapsed. Next were the three that cornered her into the kitchen. He moved with a grace that Athena could only dream of: it was like he could track their exact movements. Simon used one's momentum against him and threw him into Athena's sparking microwave. Another had splits open up in his mask before Simon crashed a fist into his temple, and he fell to the floor.

As he dealt with the third, Athena noticed the man with the injured arm. He moved quietly with the grace of a panther, stalking Simon from behind. She scrambled to her kitchen table, where a pot for noodles she still hadn't washed rested.

Simon finished his fight as the other one poised to attack. Athena lifted the pot over her head and crashed it down on his head as hard as she could. He toppled over.

Simon turned to look at her, barely winded, but his pupils dilated the moment he saw her. Athena barely noticed the quiet, the momentary end of danger, her own safety. She let out a quiet exhale, shaking from the maelstrom inside.

"Athena," Simon said.

She gave a crooked smile, the other side twisting. "You came," she said. "I knew you would."

Simon's breath hitched. He reached for her and she stumbled towards him. The tears started before she came to rest in his shirt, but she dissolved into hysterical sobs as she felt the fabric and the heat behind it.

For a moment, it was over. She was safe. He folded her into his arms like she couldn't be close enough, and she shared the sentiment. Athena latched onto the folds of his coat, crying without abandon, and refusing to let go. He offered no resistance, becoming so still that only his breath told Athena that he hadn't turned to stone.

It was a few minutes before Simon finally spoke. "Athena, I trust you're not hurt?"

She couldn't decipher his voice. So rough and soft at the same time. Unbridled. Enraged. Heat and... longing? She stepped backwards, trying to shake her head, but stopped. She remembered the small nicks on her throat and cheek, but those were hardly a big deal. But her side...

"I fell into the bathroom door at one point," she croaked, pulling a sleeve across her soaked face. It did nothing to help. She pointed towards her side. "I hit the doorknob. Right here."

His fingers traced where she was pointing, and she couldn't help it: she winced. His eyes landed on her face.

"May I take a look?"

She nodded.

He rolled up the fabric of her baggy T-shirt. She tried focusing on his touch, but her skin seemed to catch fire. She flushed and looked away, but winced again when he found the area. The fine hairs stood up, and she let out a ragged exhale.

"Ah, I see it," he said quietly. "It will leave a bruise, but I do not believe there is internal damage. You will be fine."

Athena nodded. She backed away, and her shirt fell back down. She started shivering, and she wrapped her arms around herself. It had to be close to seventy degrees outside.

Simon took one look at her face before taking her by the arm and guiding her towards the couch. He found a throw draped over it and pulled it over her.

"You are going into shock," he told her. "Take deep breaths."

Athena struggled to obey. The truth was, it felt like the room was getting smaller and smaller. The unconscious man in front of her doorway didn't help.

"I didn't call the authorities," she said. "You're the only one I managed to reach."

"That's all right," he said. "I would recommend we call them from your phone. It will be easier for the department to record this incident."

Athena nodded. She found the shadow of a tree from outside, and fixated on it. It was the best way to drown out the background noise. "My phone is in my room."

"Which one is your room?"

"It's the one with the door ripped off," Athena said dully. "You can't miss it."

It was the first time she saw Simon flinch. She wanted to reach for his hand, tell him she was okay when it didn't feel like the truth, but he was already gone. Athena folded her knees to her chest, curling around herself for more heat.

When Simon came back, he checked her breathing and heart rate. He must have been satisfied with the results, because he sat down next to her.

"You called them?" she said, struggling for deep breaths.

"Yes."

Athena leaned her chin on her knees. "They can't come fast enough." She still felt like she was in fight or flight mode. Hostile people were still in her apartment. They wanted her dead. Simon's body remained tense, ready to take off to defend her. Always defending her. Always her savior.

She wanted to cry all over again. Instead, she reached for Simon's hand and grabbed it, folding each of his long fingers between her much smaller ones and held on tight.

He made no attempt to let go.

* * *

"I am an idiot," Ema seethed the moment she stepped into Athena's apartment. "A stupid, useless idiot."

Athena swallowed. She still held on to Simon's hand, tightening her grip. Thankfully, the officers swarming the scene didn't seem to notice. "Ema."

"Don't 'Ema' me," Ema snapped. "I should have sent that lump over right away." She pointed towards Gumshoe, who busied himself directing officers at the scene. "I said it was a safety issue, didn't I?"

"Did she?" Simon asked mildly.

"Don't fire her," Athena said, focusing on his fingers. "She did the best she could."

Ema sighed. She didn't seem to hear Athena. "I'm sacked, aren't I?"

"Not yet." Simon straightened. "Are those cretins all out of her apartment yet?"

Gumshoe arrived next to the couch and pointed at a stretcher. "That's the last one."

"Excellent." Simon stood up, letting go of her hand. Goosebumps rose along Athena's arms. "I would suggest going with them. It wouldn't do if even one of them managed to escape."

Gumshoe nodded. "Do I have to watch the ICU? That one isn't going anywhere for a while."

"Of course not," Simon said. "Have you ever attempted to flee a hospital with a pierced lung?"

"Wait," Athena said, her voice hoarse. "He's still alive?"

Simon looked over his shoulder at her. His face softened. "Yes."

She exhaled. Relief she couldn't explain rushed through her throat.

"Barely," Gumshoe timed in. "The paramedics are almost at the hospital, last I heard, and they almost lost him twice. He's really–"

"Detective," Simon snapped.

"Right. Sorry."

Athena pulled at her fingers, stretching out her glove. The trembling resumed, and Ema's eyes flicked in her direction.

"I'd like to talk to Athena," Ema said. "Alone."

Athena stopped moving.

"To what end?" Simon said. The even tones betrayed the turmoil underneath. Athena placed a hand on Simon's arm.

"I wouldn't mind getting some air," she said. It felt like putting it mildly. She wouldn't mind if she never stepped foot in this apartment again. "I'll be right back."

Standing was a miracle. She wobbled after Ema, and she half-expected for Simon to follow her outside. The door shed several splinters as Ema opened and closed it behind her. Athena's chest tightened, her lower lip trembling.

"Are you okay?" Ema asked under her breath.

Athena shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?"

She shook her head so fast it made her dizzy. "No. Physically, I'm fine. I'll be sore, but..." she trailed off.

Ema was quiet for a moment. "Athena, I think the trial is still going to go on tomorrow."

"I figured."

"I can assign Gumshoe here tonight," Ema went on. "I should have right away. I'm so sorry, Athena."

"Don't," Athena said. "Doesn't Gumshoe have an investigation to do? With these guys?"

"I can do it, along with another detective. I want Gumshoe here. He's fended off the mafia before."

"Wait, seriously?"

Simon took the moment to step out the door. The two women jumped.

Ema adjusted her lapels. "What is it?"

"Detective Gumshoe will be departing shortly," Simon said.

"What about Athena?"

"I am going to stay with her."

Athena stared at him, mouth open.

Ema reached for Snackoos in her bag and began to eat them two at a time. Crumbs fell on Athena's doorstep.

"The oaf needs instruction, no doubt." Simon ignored Ema's loud chewing. "I will escort him to to his truck, and be back shortly."

Athena flinched. Even with Simon's fancy speech, it was rare for him to sound so forced. He went down the stairs, disappearing once he passed the streetlight in the parking lot. Gumshoe followed out the door shortly after. Ema concentrated on eating until there were none left. Athena appreciated the pause, but her heart wouldn't stop fluttering. She barely noticed Ema crumpling the plastic bag in her fist.

"I could give you a fancy monologue about inappropriate behavior and bigger things at stake," Ema said. "But I'm not going to."

Athena dropped her face into her hands."Ema–"

"I'm not blind," she said. "I may hate being a detective, but I can observe with the best of them."

Athena let her arms fall to her sides. "What are you trying to say?"

Ema sighed. "I called the judge before getting here. He sympathizes with the situation, but we cannot move the trial to a different time or day. It has to be tomorrow."

"Did he say why?"

Ema nodded, but she made it look like a struggle. "Yes. But I'm not allowed to say."

Athena leaned back against the wall. "Naturally." She was so sick of the bureaucratic bullshit. She nearly died, and bogus rules were still in place. She did her best to not show it on her face, but Widget flashed red.

Ema looked at it, tilting her head. "You could back out. No one would judge you at this point. Self-preservation and all that."

Athena thought for a moment. That would be the easiest and safest decision. Simon would be relieved. But the replacement lawyer would be in a similar predicament, and with what precious little she knew, she still knew way more than the next one.

And if Caden had been framed by...

"No." Her voice was firm for the first time since the attack. "I'm staying."

Ema nodded. "I figured as much. Which is why I'm not going to say anything about Simon. Propriety doesn't mean shit to me at this point."

Athena sighed. "Ema, there's nothing going on."

Ema pushed the empty Snackoo bag in Athena's hands. "Throw that away for me, will you?"

Athena tried to speak, but Simon emerged from the shadows of the parking lot. He opened the door to her apartment and closed it after him without a word.

"That's my cue." Ema started down the stairs. "Telling you to be careful is pretty pointless now, so... do what you have to do."

Athena's heart began to pound. Her stomach lurched. She had never been agoraphobic in her life; usually it was just the opposite, but the world was too big. She went inside to find Simon sitting on her couch.

"I assume I will be sleeping here," he said, and her ears picked up on fractures in his voice. Broken pieces that didn't belong in the usual smooth baritone.

Athena didn't comment. Instead, she nodded with her head heavy. She dragged herself into the kitchen and flinched at the bedlam: her microwave dented and screen shattered, pans everywhere, and some droplets of blood. She carefully stepped over them to reach her trash can. She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Simon turned his head to look over the back of the couch.

"I'm so sorry." Athena swayed on her feet. "I should have..." She buried her face in her hands. "I didn't think. I didn't think and I forced you to go and save me, _again_ , and I can't..."

Something flickered on his face, even though she didn't make much sense, even to herself. "Are you abandoning the case?"

Athena dropped her shoulders. "No. It's a bit late for that."

Simon looked back into the living room. "Then you have nothing to apologize for. Not yet, anyway."

His voice strained. Athena swallowed. She could feel her heartbeat in her stomach. "Sure I do," Athena croaked. "I keep making messes of things. And involving you in them."

"I will let you know when I start complaining," Simon said, his words dry. "Come here."

She plopped back on the couch next to him. A headache began in her ear canals and spread to her temples. She refused to look at him.

"Was I the first person you called?"

Athena leaned her head on the couch's back and closed her eyes, although that did nothing to mask the body heat radiating towards her. "Yes."

"Why?"

She almost laughed, but redness crept up on her neck anyway. "You're the first one on my emergency speed dial."

"What?"

She opened her eyes, and gathered the courage to meet his. "I didn't think the police department would have gotten to me in time," she said. "And... well..." she trailed off. She didn't know how to put it into words. Widget flashed into a rainbow of colors, and it became obnoxious. She took it off before it could creep into the black she felt growing.

"Well?" Simon prodded softly.

Athena raised one shoulder, dropped it. "Isn't it obvious?" She placed Widget on the coffee table.

He didn't reply.

She sank into the couch. "I can go. You probably need sleep."

Simon's laughter cut deep. "Sleep. I've gone without much for quite a few years, one more night won't kill me."

"You sure?" Athena said dryly. "You've been working yourself to the bone. And with tonight to boot?"

"You will be the death of me long before sleep will."

Athena flinched hard. Nothing he ever said hurt her like that since he insisted he was the one who murdered her mother. "I'm going to bed."

When Simon caught her by the hand, it took her to that moment in the woods, just before they investigated the site where Aly was found. She stilled.

She turned towards him. His mouth twisted downwards, and his eyes were tormented. It was unfair how her body softened immediately at the sight.

"This is a cliché, but I did not intend for it to sound like that," he said.

"How else would it sound?" Athena snapped.

Simon struggled with his words for a moment, and Athena watched as his Adam's apple worked. Finally, he shook his head. "I cannot say."

Athena grunted. "It is a cliché. Why not just think about what you're saying first?"

"I apologize."

She shook her head, but stopped when she noticed his hand.

"You're shaking," she said.

Simon now refused to look at her. "Yes."

"Are you afraid?" Athena settled back in the seat next to him.

"I don't believe so." But she heard the sear of static. She swallowed. She stared at their hands, his so much paler than hers, from a life behind bars that he chose. It was hard to imagine Simon afraid of anything.

"Were you afraid?" she adjusted. "When I called?"

Simon's eyes snapped to her. "I have never been more scared in my entire existence than when I received that call."

A weight settled in Athena's chest. "What about my mother?"

Simon was already shaking his head before she finished the sentence. "Not even then."

Her skin set fire with a different kind of heat. Her nerves ran along a current, her blood roared, but her heart and mind were clear. She took a deep breath.

"I'm always terrified," Athena said. "It's never stopped."

He exhaled. "What are you going to do?"

The words were out before she could control them. "I'm stuck between two options."

Simon waited.

"The first is to start screaming and never, ever stop," she admitted, letting go of his hand. Simon's flinch was not unlike hers.

"And the second?"

Athena took a deep breath before turning towards him. A different kind of adrenaline began to pulse, and it exhausted her, but she didn't look away. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out before she could lose her nerve. Only her fingers perched on his face at first, but then she traced his cheek with her palm. Simon let out a ragged sigh and turned his face slightly into her palm. It was the only encouragement she needed.

If she was rational, she never would have had the courage. She shifted forward, guiding his face forward, and kissed him.

Simon's response was immediate: the minute skin met, he let out something in between a sigh and a groan. It vibrated against her lips, then in her ears, and last her heart. Before she could decipher it, he snaked his hand into her hair and pulled her forward.

She had been kissed before, but never experienced so much _movement._ It was push and pull; for a moment she tried to get as close as humanly possible, gliding her hands up and down his chest, and the next he moved her so far backwards that only the hand framing her skull kept her upright. And the gasps, the breathy air, they communicated in a way that finally made perfect sense to her.

The warmth in her belly leaned closer and closer to fire as he opened her mouth, invading and settling in in a way that felt like coming home. Her thoughts grew more and more muted as his tongue flicked in her mouth, devouring her. She threaded her fingertips through his hair, up his scalp, loosening his ponytail. The last thing she heard was a grunt before he lifted her up, and together, they stumbled to heights she never realized, never thought she would ever know.

And finally, as they made their way to her door-less bedroom and landed on her bed, her thoughts were gloriously, beautifully silent.

* * *

TBC

 _Not going to lie. This one was hard. I'm more of a methodical, philosophical writer than an action one, and a LOT happened here. Obviously. I hope it meets expectations!_

 _I'm ridiculously excited for the next chapter. While planning this out, some chapters came more formed in my mind than others. This one and the next are two of them. One down, yay!_

 _Also, thanks to prn for the sweetest PMs I've had the pleasure of receiving. With reviewers like you guys, inspiration is never too far away. :) Until next time._


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